LitWorld's Young Professionals Network: Now Accepting New Recruits

LitWorld's Young Professionals Network is a community of young leaders that aims to expand and amplify LitWorld’s impact through fundraising, advocacy, and community-building initiatives. The group represents a broad array of professional expertise and personal passions, but is unified by a commitment to LitWorld's mission. The Young Professionals Network is led by the YPN Board, a governing body of committed leaders responsible for setting and actualizing the network’s goals season-over-season.

And now, it's recruitment time for the YPN! That means for the next few weeks, we'll be highlighting current members and alumni of the YPN on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

If you or someone you know may be interested in joining the YPN as a leadership member—or offering time and energy in some other way to support global literacy—we hope you reach out for more information here!

Applications are currently being accepted here. Meet the network below!

Maya Battle

Hi there! I’m Maya Battle, a longtime member and former co-chair of LitWorld’s YPN. I’ve always been a passionate reader, but I’ve also been fortunate enough to work at Penguin Random House for nearly ten years now, marketing, discussing, and dreaming up big things for a lot of books I truly love. Reading made a huge difference in my life, providing me an escape when I needed one, inspiration when the world seemed grey, and voices that articulated all of the things I wanted to say but couldn’t find the right words for. It means a lot to me that LitWorld’s advocacy is out there making new connections with children around the globe. Such an organization would have made a world of difference to me, so I hope that, especially if you’re like me and you can see yourself in the bright eyes of a child discovering something for the first time, you’ll also fall in love with LitWorld.

Courtney Code

I’m Courtney Code, a proud member of LitWorld’s YPN board, serving this year as co-chair. My childhood was blissfully full of formative stories. A beloved friend gave me Eloise for my sixth birthday, and I swore I’d live in New York City someday (in the Plaza hotel, of course). My mom read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to me and my brother, chapter-by-chapter on the living room floor. I waited every day that year for my Hogwarts letter. One Christmas, my aunt and uncle wrapped Harold and the Purple Crayon up for me, and I dreamt of creating a world of my own, from nothing but a blank page.

All of these imaginings came true for me in their own ways, thanks to the power of story. I am grateful for the abundant access to literacy and education I’ve been granted, and I am committed to opening that door for all children, for all communities across the globe.

Rosemary Derocher

Hello! I’m Rosemary Derocher, and this was my first year with LitWorld and my 24th year with books. On LitWorld’s YPN board, I support finance and fundraising, and I work in nonprofit fundraising professionally. As a kid, I did a lot of reading past my bedtime - and a lot of hiding thick books under my stomach to totally, successfully, 100% convince my parents that I was very asleep. This did not work with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Eragon, but I’m pretty sure it was successful with a nice paperback copy of E.L. Konigsburg’s The Outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place.

Supporting LitWorld is important to me because it gives me a chance to use my skills and talents to support something I really care about - the power of stories. Growing up with stories gives you a better way to look at the world with greater empathy and kindness. Also, getting lost in a story is a great way to give your brain a rest and recharge, and that's something everyone needs. (That and Thneeds!)

I think right now my favorite of LitWorld’s Seven Strengths of Super Readers is “curiosity” - the desire and instinct to probe into things, ask questions, and learn more. This is something I've been trying to grow in my own life lately as well. Calvin of Calvin and Hobbes (another of my favorite, well-worn books on my shelf) provides a lot of life lessons through “do’s” and maybe a few more through his “don’ts” - but curiosity is definitely something he’s been teaching me for many years.

Jessie Paddock

Hi! I’m Jessie Paddock and this is my second year with LitWorld. I’m proud to be part of YPN as the art of storytelling has been part of my life since I was a child, taking on many different shapes and sizes over the years. Now a writer of middle-grade and young adult fiction and a teaching artist, I’ve also worked with visual artists and as a performer in theatre and film for years. My enduring interest in narrative all began with books, though.

When I was six I wanted to be Eloise when I grew up. The next year, I had my sights set on Calvin or Hobbes (slight bias towards Calvin, but I wasn’t going to be picky), an aspiration that seemed absolutely attainable, somehow. Though I eventually realized that I’d never actually be a precocious six year old with a pet turtle living in a grand hotel (by that point I was about eight), or a rambunctious kid with a stuffed tiger as my BFF, the spirit of these characters and their stories stayed with me. My first favorite books – Eloise and Calvin & Hobbes: It’s a Magical World -- encouraged me to dream, laugh, and imagine. Simply put, literature inspired me to create.

Books, and the privilege of literacy, jump-started my imagination and eventually empowered me to generate characters and stories of my own. I’m proud to be part of LitWorld because I believe literacy has the power to encourage self-expression, communication, and play. I like to think Calvin, Hobbes and Eloise would agree.

Ilana Solomon

I’m Ilana Solomon, the YPN’s Fundraising Chair this year, and I also work as Development Associate for LitWorld!  When I was younger, nothing made me happier than reading. Before I could read on my own, my parents would read aloud to me every night before I went to sleep (my Dad does a great dramatic reading of Shel Silverstein poetry), and when I was old enough to read on my own, I would stay up way past my bedtime reading until I fell asleep.  I even went as the purple crayon from Harold and the Purple Crayon for Halloween one year!  Reading and the power of literacy has shaped my life in so many crucial ways — I would not be the person (or bookworm) that I am today without it. LitWorld is making sure that kids across the globe can experience the joy and power that literacy brings.

Olivia Chase

I'm Olivia Chase, the YPN's Culture point-woman this year, and I have been working with LitWorld in various volunteer capacities since 2010. I'm an English teacher, so I get asked the favorite-book question a lot, but for me books are a kind of religion and favorites are always in flux -- there should be a word for book-kismet, when books find you at the right time. Right now, I'm reading Krik Krak by Edwidge Danticat, and I'm teaching The Giver and American Born Chinese to sixth and eighth graders. When I think about what literacy means to me more broadly, I think LitWorld's founder, Pam Allyn, put it best:

"Literacy has inevitably changed your life for the better. Literacy wakes us to awareness of the world, of the beauty in it, and the sorrows of it too. Literacy is something we want others to fall in love with, the way we've gotten to. From the oral tradition to the written forms, literacy connects us to others, makes us stronger, braver, better, more knowing, more questioning.

It is never something that if you have it, someone else will have less of it. It's something every single person on earth can have while not depleting something else. If more people have it, more people will be better off for it.

It is the essence of how democracy is built and how we converse and relate, connect and fulfill dreams. It is the essence of peace."

Eric de Lemos

Hi there, fellow human. I’m Eric, the LitWorld Young Professional Secretary for this year. From when I was very young, my mom impressed the importance of reading on me and I still think of how it’s shaped me into who I am today. In the beginning she would read to me, but as I got older I found it was I who really enjoyed reading back to her - it left me with a deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. Now that I’m older, I understand that there is one thing that unlocks all opportunity in the world: literacy. It’s important to me that everyone has the same opportunity for success that I had. LitWorld’s global programs encourage self-expression, build understanding, and cultivate confidence in the leaders of tomorrow.

Angela Januzzi

Hey there, people who care about the world. I’m Angela Januzzi, the new Outreach & Community Coordinator for LitWorld’s Young Professionals Network. I’ve been lucky to work for both book publishing and non-profits, but before that there wasn’t much in life that could both calm me down and wake me, up all at once, like the acts reading and writing.

While many people’s lives are enriched through the escapism reading offers, for me reading and writing were how I first processed my own immense desire to simply know more about the world, when I felt I couldn’t find those answers from my immediate surroundings. And then the more I read, the more I wrote. And the less afraid I was to then transfer those observations from sheer words into acts of real, true experience.

LitWorld directly supports programming and communities for kids who, otherwise, might not have had such life-changing interactions through reading and writing. Yes. But what makes LitWorld *especially* vital is just how grassroots its work is. Its entire model is built upon partnerships with local literacy organizations around the planet, and with very little bureaucracy. I personally believe LitWorld’s work with literacy groups, throughout the U.S. and the globe, isn’t just essential to greater equality for all of us — it’s also maybe one of the best models for worldwide literacy that you could ever want to support. Hope you join us soon. <3

Remy Olsen

Hi! My name is Remy Olsen and this is my second year being a part of the amazing LitWorld’s YPG. Having a mother in publishing, books were a large part of my childhood. One book took the cake though, as I probably read Corduroy a million times. His adventures and undeniable cutest made me his #1 fan. His likability has survived the battle against time as Corduroy is my niece’s favorite stuffed animal.

Samantha Siegal

Hi! I’m Sam Siegal, a proud co-chair of the LitWorld YPN board. Some of my favorite books to read when I was little were from the Nancy Drew series…what could be better than a butt-kicking girl detective?? I’m honored to be part of the LitWorld family because reading and writing gave me a voice as a strange, mystery-loving little girl and every child must have the right to express their own strange in their own way. LitWorld is changing the world through super smart programming that does just this – please help us spread the lit love!

Caelyn Cobb

I’m Caelyn Cobb, the incoming YPN leadership team co-chair for the 2018-2019 year. By day, I’m an editor for nonfiction books on global history and international politics at Columbia University Press. I started working with LitWorld in 2016 during my capstone project for grad school at NYU, traveling to Haiti to help train LitClub mentors. Seeing the important work LitWorld does to help create a love of learning in kids of all ages firsthand was inspiring. I joined the YPN after finishing the project and I’ve been proud to support LitWorld ever since.

I’ve come a long way since Mickey Mouse’s Books of Opposites, but I still get excited about getting  my hands on a new book. As a kid I loved Ella Enchanted, Nancy Drew, and my illustrated encyclopedia; today I love Gillian Flynn’s mysteries and any new books about politics. Your tastes (and reading level) may grow up, but LitWorld has shown me that the joyful reader inside never truly does.

My View, My Voice: An Interview with Carolyn Greenberg and Rebekah Coleman

Our Storytelling & Advocacy Coordinator, Jake Adler, had an opportunity to speak with Carolyn Greenberg and Rebekah Coleman—a pair of expert educators, curriculum writers, and literacy coaches at LitLife—about their latest book release and the importance of bringing persuasive writing into classrooms.

How did you two team up?

We’ve been working with LitLife for around 10 years, and teamed up with LitWorld’s founder, Pam Allyn, on the Core Ready textbook series. We both work in content development at LitLife, and decided to join forces on My View, My Voice: 21 Strategies for Powerful Persuasive Writing.

Tell us a bit about your new book series. What made you want to create these texts?

We feel the moment is now—children are learning the importance of speaking up and people are in need of learning how to listen to each other’s views and share their own views in intelligent, thoughtful, and respectful ways. We wanted to provide educators and students with key strategies to strengthen student’s persuasive writing. We both noticed there was a need for curriculum around persuasive writing—we wanted to provide strategies and techniques to expand and enrich the teaching of persuasive writing. We decided to get at the heart of understanding what persuasive writing is and to help educators and students shift from opinion writing into the more formal and complex genre of argument writing.

In My View My Voice we provide 21 age-appropriate strategies and 10 model lessons that lead students to research topics, form and support opinions and arguments, and present their ideas in a variety of engaging ways. These learning opportunities are provided to empower students to both become critical consumers of persuasive messages and strong crafters of persuasive writing. We hope our books help educators teach persuasive writing with expertise, confidence, and joy.

Do you feel there is a gap in many curricula that these new lessons you’ve created can address?

There wasn't a lot of existing curriculum around persuasive writing, particularly around reading persuasive texts in order to learn how to become critical consumers. Teachers were telling us that they wanted to move beyond overdone topics like, “Why Smoking is Bad for You,” and the tired format of the 5-paragraph essay. They told us they didn’t have decent, credible sources to give students on topics that were as appropriate as they were relevant to students’ lives. We understood that teachers were looking adjust their approach to rhetoric and make it more inspiring, exciting, and authentic.

In these new texts, we’ve expanded what persuasive writing can look like in different genres and forms. We have also created age- appropriate original model texts at a range of reading levels for teachers to use with their students. We believe students ought to be learning how to read persuasively, too, in order to write persuasively. When fake news and ‘alternative facts’ are in the mainstream, we feel very strongly that there is a need to educate children about credible sources in order to raise a generation of thoughtful readers.

Is persuasive writing too ambitious a topic for the K-5 age group? Why is it important to foster these skills so early?

Kids love telling us about their preferences from an early age—“My favorite color is, I don’t like that food, etc.”— so it's a perfect time to teach kids how to express themselves more articulately. We ask them to provide a reason for their statement. We teach them how to provide evidence to support their opinion, which is truly an important life skill. Kids can certainly do it, but we don't always teach it. But we believe it’s vital that we teach our kids how to be persuasive.

When we frame it around making a difference in your community—as a sort of superpower one can use for good—kids get very interested in learning about how to structure their arguments in a more powerful way.

Especially with younger students, do you find it difficult to explain the importance of using logical reasoning over experiential or emotional evidence? How can teachers make the difference clearer for their students?

When working with younger kids, teachers will definitely hear a lot more of that emotional reasoning—“Purple is the best color because my stuffed animal is purple.” In My View, My Voice, we dive into ethos, pathos, and logos argument styles, and provide concrete strategies to combine feeling with facts. It sounds challenging, but when you put it in simpler terms, kids can really follow along. They get it.

Want to write a persuasive piece about whether dogs or cats make a better pet? Take a poll of your fellow students! Kids can then use that data they collect to state credible facts and defend their opinions on age-appropriate subjects.

It’s all about learning to discern the difference between fact and opinion and to gain an understanding that when something is a fact for you, i.e. pizza is the best food, it doesn't mean it’s a fact for everyone. True facts are things that are always true for everyone.

How do these new texts and lessons engage students of various ages in the 21st century?

We encourage teachers and kids to look in their own community for issues where people have many opinions. By doing that, students become more invested. They learn that, in catering an argument to the right audience, they have a chance to make a difference in their world. We look at topics that are personal and expand to classroom-wide, school-wide, community-wide, nationwide, and worldwide issues, gradually expanding scope to recognize a wide breadth of subjects.

We provide tips on how to become critical consumers of social media, too. With our texts, students learn how to determine whether a source is credible. They learn to ask, “Who is the author? Are they affiliated with any university or publication or organization? Does this author have a career or experience that demonstrates expertise on the subject they’ve written about?”

Depending on who students are trying to reach with their argument, they learn how to determine whether social media could be a good method of getting their message out. We discuss logical fallacies and call them T.R.A.P.S., which we use to identify weaknesses in the arguments of others.

My View, My Voice is easy-to-use, easy-to-pick up, and contains ideas you can use tomorrow, by threading our strategies into existing lesson plans without changing the entire curriculum.

In some marginalized communities, kids are not encouraged to express their perspectives or opinions at all. If they counter the teacher’s point-of-view, it’s considered bad. We feel that's problematic. We want to empower students and teachers to have healthy, strong conversations that will help everyone grow as a class.

Kids need to learn how to share their views with logical reasoning and hard evidence. We hope that by using these strategies, we will empower students to both argue to learn and learn to argue. Understanding that arguments are not a shouting match, but an opportunity to share your views with others (and visa versa) and  an opportunity to learn and grow and be open to shifting your views in the face of new information. We want kids to become learners while they have conversations, and we want kids to be unafraid of those who don't agree with them.

Together, we feel that people are doing a lot of arguing but not a lot of listening these days. We have to differentiate between the concepts of learning to argue and arguing to learn.

Rebekah Coleman, M.A. Ed.

Rebekah has been an educator for over 15 years as a public school classroom teacher and curriculum writer. She is currently the Team Leader for Curriculum Development at LitLife, an internationally recognized literacy professional development group.

Carolyn Greenberg, M.A. Ed. Leadership, M.A. Elementary Ed.

Carolyn has been an educator for over 25 years, Carolyn has served as a public school classroom teacher, literacy coach, and curriculum director. She is currently the Executive Vice President of Literacy Content and Team Development for LitLife, an internationally recognized literacy professional development group.

From The LitWorld Gala, with Gratitude

The LitWorld staff poses for a group photo, moments before the opening of our Spring Gala on May 9th, 2018.

Dorothy Lee reflects on our 10th Spring Gala—her first as LitWorld's Executive Director.

This time of year is always special for the LitWorld family. All around New York City where we have our home base, the trees blossom and tell us that spring is in full swing and summer is around the corner. School is winding down and our LitClubs are planning LitFests that will celebrate the feats of the past year and look ahead to filling summers with reading and creativity, which means LitCamp for many—hip hip hooray!

It is a time for gratitude, joy, and anticipation.

LitClub members in Rwanda participate in a community service project.

A LitKid in Afghanistan shares her words.

We were so proud last week to bring together much of our LitWorld community at our Spring Gala for our own celebration. Together we shared stories of our LitKids, our partner communities and supporters, and ourselves. The theme of the evening was “Turning the Page,” which resonated in our hearts as a reflection on what stays the same, what deepens, and what changes when we begin new chapters. Where can we take control of our futures and how can we help others do the same?

I shared a story of when I was ten, helping out in my mom’s nursery school classroom during my school breaks. Reading aloud with those toddlers made me feel like a leader for the first time. I still use those read-aloud-rooted skills every day as LitWorld’s Executive Director.

Executive Director Dorothy Lee addresses the crowd at LitWorld's 2018 Spring Gala.

LitWorld's Founder, Pam Allyn, with 2018's Be the Story Honoree, Dr. Deborah Winston.

Dorothy Lee, LitKid, age 10.

Pam Allyn, LitCamper, with her parents. Her father Bill was a founding partner of the Jackson Lewis law firm.

Our Be the Story Honoree, Dr. Deborah Winston, Emeritus Deputy Executive Director of the Office of Literacy for the Detroit Public Schools Community District, shared a story of learning to lead by teaching her younger brother to read.

Our Founder, Pam Allyn, shared a story of how much her father Bill Krupman’s devotion to work, and his commitment to the power of summer camp, influenced her childhood and shaped both who she has become, and how our LitCamp Champion Honoree, the law firm Jackson Lewis, where Bill was a founding partner, has carried on his legacy in its steadfast support for LitWorld’s work.

Famed children's author and illustrator, Peter H. Reynolds, with LitWorld staff and an original illustration which was included in the silent art auction.

Author and educator Torrey Maldonado shares a story with attendees.

Our Lit Opening Speaker, author and educator Torrey Maldonado, shared a story of how his mother gave him what LitWorld gives the kids in our communities, showing him all that learning can and should be. And Peter H. Reynolds's picture book The Word Collector, published by our sponsor Scholastic, echoed our theme throughout the room with its story of Jerome, a young boy learning that words give us strength as we take them in, and give us even more power when we share them.

I asked our guests to reflect in the room:

Who were you when you were a child? Take a moment to think of your LitKid-self. Who made you feel like you truly belonged? What made your confidence shine? When did you feel afraid and what gave you hope?

Too many children do not have access to the resources that will give them the power to own their dreams.

A LitKid in Nicaragua speaks to her community.

LitKids reading side by side in Cameroon.

Globally, 250 million children and 774 million adults do not have access to the life-changing, life-saving power of literacy.

LitWorld defies these numbers every day.

Our LitClubs reach over 7,000 children and parents, our LitCamps reach hundreds of thousands of kids across the US, and our World Read Aloud Day campaign reaches millions.

We are so grateful to everyone who has rallied with us this spring, raising funds to keep this important work going. We need you with us to ensure that our LitKids can turn the page onto the bright futures they deserve.

Will you Be the Story with LitWorld?

Thank you,

Dorothy

The HerStory Team in Haiti

The HerStory Campaign's International Programs Coordinator, Binta Freeman, reflects on her first international trip to work alongside our partners and the HerStory team.

Over the past week, The HerStory Campaign team (Jennifer Estrada, Juliana Velez, and myself) along with Global G.L.O.W.’s Executive Director, Katie Rootlieb, traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. There, our team had the opportunity to meet with our partners, participate in LitClub site visits, and host a local HerStory Summit. Our team met with Nadine, the Executive Director of one of our partner organizations in Haiti, Fondation TOYA, as well as the Partnership Coordinator, Vanessa, and the Assistant Partnership Coordinator, Rebecca. Together, we also spent time with our other Haiti-based partner, The Children of Haiti Project, and their Executive Director, Dominique.

During these meetings, both the HerStory team and the two Haitian teams were able to express their thoughts regarding our partnerships and our goals for the future. We also had the pleasure of meeting with both sites’ mentors and girls. Both TOYA and COHP possess a highly dedicated group of young women mentors. 

HerStory Campaign Manager Juliana Vélez participates in a LitClub session.

LitKids in Haiti and their Inspiration Bookmarks.

Though the entire trip was very inspiring, some of the highlights were the local HerStory Summit and Young Women Leaders Forum. The summit was a day-long event in which a total of 80 girls from both of the partner organizations participated in traditional HerStory programming centered around one theme: Positive Community Engagement. During this summit, the girls rotated to different stations where they composed "Where I’m From" poems and Inspiration Bookmarks. The girls also engaged in familiar community-building activities and warm-up exercises throughout the day.

The Executive Director of Fondation TOYA, Nadine (left) with the Executive Director of COHP, Dominique (right).

As they drafted their poems, the LitClub members reflected on their strengths and past experiences and brainstormed about the ways their identities could impact their communities. While creating their bookmarks, they had the chance to stop and think about their futures and then visually represent their hopes for their community through their art. The girls of TOYA and COHP girls spoke very candidly about how they viewed themselves and the things they would like to change about their country. I was very impressed with the girls' levels of self-awareness and commitment to their communities.

Through meeting with the Young Women Leaders group, our team was able to gain an even better understanding of why our girls are as mature and dedicated as they are: they have amazing mentors. TOYA recruits their mentors from their Young Women Leaders initiative—a group of young women professionals aged 20 to 30. Some of these mentors are former LitClub members themselves and others have more recently begun working with TOYA to better the lives of girls in Haiti.

During our forum, young women shared their personal experiences and emphasized how their past hardships will not define their future success. The young women also highlighted how having the support of one another bolsters their solidarity and feeling of connectedness. They often spoke to each other with words of encouragement, and there were plenty of supportive hugs shared by all! 

It became very apparent to us that all of these young women are genuinely committed to the same causes and are passionate about bettering their futures as well as the future of generations to come.

It was wonderful to be able to witness how our partners have internalized our shared mission and are working toward their long-term goals. Both TOYA and COHP gave us a warm welcome to Haiti and allowed us to take part in our programing in person. More importantly, we were able to hear the stories of the local girls and women and support their efforts in transforming their lives.

HerStory Campaign Director Jennifer Estrada facilitating the Story Summit.

Partner Spotlight: English Education for You (Côte d'Ivoire)

Sunlight enters the canopy at the Jardin Botanique in Bingerville, Côte d'Ivoire

Toti Yalé, Partnership Coordinator at English Education for You in Côte d'Ivoire, reflects on the LitCamp 2018 experience in his community.

I went to the school early in the morning, at 6:30 AM, to gather the LitCamp members and move with them to Jardin Botanique [Botanical Garden] in Bingerville, where LitCamp occurs. 19 girls from three LitClubs—Victory LitClub, Wisdom LitClub, and Glory LitClub—joined me there. After that, we spent two days in LitCamp celebration. 

As soon as we arrived at Jardin Botanique de Bingerville, all the girls and Mrs. Yao, the mentor, kicked things off with the Hello Song. Afterward, I explained to the girls the purpose and goals of LitCamp during the morning meeting. We discussed how the month of April is Environmental Awareness Month, which is why we had selected Jardin Botanique de Bingerville for the site of LitCamp, which is also a United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture heritage site.

The girls were divided into three groups for the workshops. Each group received materials such pencils, crayons, papers, and erasers. We focused on Friendship, Kindness, and Confidence, 3 of the 7 Strengths. The girls of each group were invited to draw and write on the wide paper they received. After this session, the little girls of each group created reports about the Strengths. This assignment was designed to help the girls improve their public speaking skills, and their performances were fantastic. 

LitCampers and some serious joy.

Each girl also received a book for independent reading. We scheduled time to read the books individually, and after completing their books, the girls presented summaries of the books with the group and read one part of the book aloud. 

After this session, we had our break. Girls ate and drank soft drinks during lunch. After lunch, the girls played and danced. Some shared the games they usually play at their schools, and together they played with new friends. This time was exceptional because happiness, laughter, and shouts of joy were heard and smiles were on the faces of all of the girls. 

Next, we held the coaching session. The senior girls coached their little sisters through tips about the advantage of the reading. Girls also invited their friends to become environment protectors before concluding the first day of LitCamp.

LitCampers with their books.

An independent reading session during LitCamp.

The second day was devoted to short activities around reading and games. Girls played and took part in a reading competition based on summarizing stories after first listening to them. 

It is a privilege and honor to share with you the summary of LitCamp 2018. It was a fantastic and wonderful experience for all involved.

LitWorld at the World Literacy Summit in Oxford

Ana Stern, Director of Program Operations, and Amber Peterson, Director of Program Innovation, recently returned from Oxford in the United Kingdom, where they attended the World Literacy Summit. Below, the dynamic duo reflect on their experience.

As two LitWorld program leads who travel frequently and far to observe LitClubs and LitWorld programs in action, we were thrilled  to travel to Oxford, England for the World Literacy Summit this March. It was an amazing opportunity to talk about our programs with an international community of fellow educators and innovators in the field of literacy and truly a privilege to present our work in a city with such an immense academic history and reputation.

As we learned about the challenges faced by the many organizations in attendance, we were happy to participate in conversations with them about our approach. In many similar conferences, the intended beneficiaries of programs like ours are often shut out of conversations. With pride, we highlighted the many ways in which we engage our partners in discussion about our programs and the impact they’d like to see, and ensure that they are enrolled in our decision making processes. This approach is echoed in our LitClub programs where the goal is always to empower the child to engage in a conversation about what they want in order to advocate for themselves and their communities.

Ana and Amber at the World Literacy Summit.

It was validating to hear LitWorld’s emphasis on joy and engagement in literacy programs echoed by several of the renowned speakers at the event.  Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands implored the development community to focus not just on the practice of reading, but the joy of it as well. This sentiment was repeated in talks by Gail Gallie of Project Everyone, Stacy Mackler of Lancome, and over and over on each of the panel sessions that we attended. LitWorld can truly consider itself an innovation leader in this realm and we were approached by many individuals and organizations interested in aligning their practices with our own.  

In a panel focused on girls’ literacy, it was heartening to hear how motivated many individuals and organizations are to alleviate the global gender gap in terms of access to literacy. Several initiatives and campaigns were highlighted, with LitClub programs in Afghanistan receiving a huge shout out! While we applauded the great work being done and acknowledged the work still left to do, we were also reminded of the importance of bringing men and boys into the work of uplifting girls, and cautioned against making assumptions about the needs of communities based solely on gender. One panelist brought up the effects of the civil war on boys in Sierra Leone and stressed that, contrary to popular belief, they were often less likely to have access to education than their female peers. It was an important and eye-opening discussion.  

Our presence at the summit was beneficial for several reasons. The first, of course, was the access it provided to such a breadth of organizations and institutions doing parallel work in the world of development and literacy promotion. We were able to network on an unprecedented scale with both a education focused and academic crowd.

The LitWorld team meets with international friends and partners in the United Kingdom.

The World Literacy Summit also enabled us to represent a younger, more diverse demographic within the international development community. We couldn’t help but notice that the majority of the attendees were significantly older than us, very few were women, and even fewer were people of color. It was empowering to be present in a space in which we have traditionally been absent. When we found ourselves front and center during several group photo ops, it was rewarding to note that the significance of our presence was not missed.

Melissa Villa, Founder and Director of Project PEARLS and winner of the first Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism.

It was extremely thrilling to see the LitWorld mission, story, and 7 Strengths spread across the summit. Shamim Jawad, founder of Ayenda Foundation in Afghanistan, a LitWorld partner since 2015, was on the Girls’ and Women’s Literacy and Education for Sustainable Development panel. On stage she not only spoke about LitWorld and how transformational the LitClubs have been at her organization, but also pointed to us in the audience and listed the 7 Strengths out loud. We also applauded Melissa Villa, Founder and Director of Project PEARLS in the Philippines, a LitWorld partner since 2012, when she won the first Albert Schweitzer Award for Humanitarianism.

Our presentation focused on LitWorld’s unique partnership model. We promoted the development of literacy identities and best practices for activating entire communities as advocates of storytelling. We walked the audience through our robust trainings and professional development programs, and demonstrated how we build the capacity of community leaders as literacy ambassadors and advocates.

We communicated our objective to empower individuals, organizations and institutions to take ownership of their own stories and see themselves as agents of change. Our unique, multi-tiered approach to literacy advocacy focuses on supporting young people and helping them recognize their ability to be changemakers in their lives and in the world.

Finally, we illustrated how we mobilize an international network of individuals and organizations around the shared mission of establishing literacy a fundamental human right. In doing so, we learn from each other and share in the creation of a more literate and equitable world.

We hope that this is the first of many conferences where we get to highlight our innovative approach, our pedagogy, and unique programming.

Pam Allyn's Super Reader Road Trip: Making A 365-Day Commitment to Our Kids

It’s been a whirlwind month for LitWorld founder Pam Allyn, who just returned from a four-week-long driving tour to advocate for children’s literacy across the country. Pam, her husband Jim, and their adventurous dog Dewey piled into the car, and criss-crossed through more than 16 states meeting with teachers, parents, students, community leaders and others, learning about the barriers to literacy many American communities face and working with those communities to develop solutions.

One major focus of the tour was the “summer slide,” a term used to describe the phenomenon of children losing their reading skills over the summer break. This “slide” is especially apparent among lower-income kids, who lose up to 3 months of reading development during the vacation. Over time, this can put lower-income students years behind their middle-class counterparts.

“Affluent kids get to go on vacations and trips,” Pam said, “but most kids aren’t really doing that sort of thing. We must give our kids a way to learn and think differently throughout the summer. We all need that, even adults. It’s important that we work to change our brain a little bit. We all have a responsibility to think about the way kids learn all year, and make a 365-day commitment to kids. We can have that serious joy in the summer and have fun and learn at the same time.”

Summer months are absolutely critical in the reading lives of our kids, and this message resonated deeply with everyone Pam met on her tour. “I met so many amazing people in our schools,” she said, “but we still have so many challenges. One thing I wonder is if we are looking at kids as having strengths rather than deficits. A strength-based approach means leaders will look at kids as coming into school with strengths already; really believing in kids. We have to believe every kid can learn to read, and sadly, that’s not always the attitude people have. The mission to educate people has to begin with literacy, and we’re ten steps behind if we don't believe that we can all do this.”

Pam with education leaders and professionals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Pam and Dewey in North Carolina.

“Not thinking about kids’ learning lives in the summer is very outdated, but right now, we’re in a new world and and there’s no reason to waste all that time,“ said Pam, “but it has to be a community commitment. Kids’ reading skills don’t always have to be cultivated in schools. It can happen in churches or community centers.”

The understanding that learning happens not only within a classroom, but throughout the entire community, is inherently understood by many educators and parents. They clamored for resources to help prevent the summer slide, and one of Pam’s solutions was the signature LitWorld and Scholastic program, LitCamp. “LitCamp closes that summer gap and creates a 365 day-a-year commitment to kids’ education; it's a way to reframe the school year,” said Pam, “The results that are coming back show that kids in LitCamp are surging ahead as readers compared to kids who aren’t involved, and they’re having a great time to boot. It’s truly summer camp, reimagined.”   

LitCamp’s newest curriculum includes a 14 week-long Family Messaging program. Teachers are provided with a set of text messages (see below) to send to families once a week through school messaging services to encourage them to read and tell stories with their children at home. This programming integrates classroom with community, and fights the summer slide by making reading an integral part of family life.

“In spite of working against a lot of odds—poverty, prejudice—the teachers and leaders I met believed so much in their kids. And that is a big part of how we make change. I was struck by how dedicated people in education really are, it is very extraordinary, and these are untold stories. It feels like such a movement. I even met with kids who are reading to their parents on a regular basis! Sometimes we look at our country and wonder how we are doing, and really, at the local level we are doing awesome,” Pam said.

Dewey hitches a ride in the back seat of the LitCamp Tour-mobile!

Pam, Jim, and Dewey championed reading across the country, and can’t wait for the next LitTour! So many stories were shared—stories of triumph, fear, sadness, joy, and hope. These stories illuminate the wish we all share: to give our children the education they deserve, and grow a love of reading that will last forever.