Hello friends,
School’s Out for Summer…well, maybe for your kids and grandkids but not for Literacy Now! We are excited to be serving three new campuses including students up to 6th grade! Yes, I said “up to 6th grade”! Typically, we are focused on K – 3rd grade but there are many students in the upper grades that need our Reading Intervention program, so we are thrilled to have the opportunity to serve some of those students this summer. Who knows what the future will bring? You can read all about this new adventure below in Stopping the Summer Slide.
If you read our monthly newsletter, watch the local news or even casually scroll through social media you understand this year has been filled with challenges in education, particularly in HISD. We’ve served and invested in HISD students and families faithfully for 17.5 years, so this year has been particularly challenging for us as an organization. Despite the challenges of this year, our staff continued to do whatever it takes as they tailored lessons to meet each student’s needs while also ensuring these children felt valued and loved. THIS is The Literacy Now Way, and our staff exemplifies it each day!
I’m very happy to say that, on average, our students realized a 150% increase in their foundational skills during our 25-week program! The students and our team persevered despite challenging circumstances, something that will never change no matter what is happening around us.
Lots of new things on the horizon…a new CEO effective August 1st, (see the announcement video here), new school and district partnerships, ever increasing volunteer and donor bases, some new ways to support our kiddos, and who knows what else. Stay tuned for our July and August newsletters as they will contain more specifics on what’s to come.
The photo below was taken at my last board meeting on May 22nd. A few board members were missing but I felt their presence as I was honored for my 17.5 years at the helm of Making It Better / Literacy Now. I love these board members, along with those not pictured and all those who came before them. I thank them for their passion for our work, the many hours they volunteer helping raise funds, planning for the future, being our thought partners, and their support of me, personally.
I thank YOU – everyone reading this newsletter – for the privilege of serving and for YOUR amazing partnership. I’ve had the absolute best job (a calling for me) the last 17.5 years and each of YOU and the children and families served has changed my life in the most profound ways. I look forward to our next steps together as I begin my new role on August 1st.
Blessings,
Jacque Daughtry
Chief Executive Officer
