“Literacy is something that we know we have to look at. When you bring folks together around a single cause, they are focused. They are in it, and you can get some things done. That’s exactly what we have done here.”
Although those words weren't the first ones spoken during Rome City Schools’ Literacy Compass Rollout Meeting on Wednesday, April 17 at the College and Career Academy at Rome High School, they seemed to strike a chord and resonate throughout the meeting.
Rome City Schools Deputy Superintendent Dr. Barbara Patrick-Lashley said this during her presentation, as she walked the roughly 40-plus attendees through the process the literacy committee put together to begin tackling literacy problems in the community.
Dr. Lashley helped lead a literacy task force featuring board members, educators, city leaders, and community stakeholders that has been working on tackling the literacy issues over the past several months.
The rollout of the compass is the next step in the process that everyone involved admits isn’t easy, but is most definitely worth it.
“Literacy is one of those issues where progress takes time. We are working on perfecting a plan and letting everybody know that literacy is the game changer. And 100 percent of us agree that literacy is for all children,” Rome City Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric L. Holland said. “If you invest your time and money into something and don’t see a return in two, or four, or 10 years, you might not do it. But if we can help two kids, four kids, or 10 kids, then we have done our job. Literacy is what we do, and it’s the ultimate equalizer.”
The issue is striking. The most recent Georgia Milestones Test results show that 34 percent of state third graders are reading below grade level. National indicators also show an overall drop in reading level throughout the country as well.
The taskforce has been busy over the last several months working on not only building a curriculum to help with literacy but to also find ways to encourage reading and literacy outside of the classroom.
“Being able to communicate is the key to the future for this community. Everyone who is working in education is also working in economic development. Every kid in a classroom at some point and time is going to have a job,” Rome Mayor Craig McDaniel said. “The job they get will determine the quality of life they have. Literacy is the foundation and is the most important thing we can be doing.”
McDaniel made sure to note that work on literacy is imperative not only now but for the future as well.
"We’ve got to get with these young kids and really stress literacy,” McDaniel said. “I can’t tell you how much I commend the school system and its leadership for stressing literacy. It will not only make a difference for the quality of life of those kids but for this community for a long time forward.”
The committee noted that literacy issues aren’t just a school issue or city of Rome issues, but a community-wide issue.
“This isn’t just a problem of mine or a problem of yours. We are all connected and it takes all of us to move forward. Everybody has to be concerned. It takes a village to come together to be a good community. We want Rome to be a beacon on the hill and have people say they want to be like the city of Rome and Floyd County,” Sundai Stevenson, former Rome Mayor and a Literacy Task Force Member, said. “We all have to work together to do this. We need each other. This is nothing that I can do alone or you can do alone. That’s what it's about. Us all working together to help solve this problem.”
The Literacy Compass was developed to serve as a guide to help tackle literacy issues not only in school age children but in infants and toddlers and throughout the city and county.
“It takes a village to raise a child. I think we are at that point now where the community needs to come together and work toward this common goal,” Alvin Jackson, a Rome City Schools Board Member, said. “At the end of the day, it’s all about our children, and we want to make sure they have the best education possible.”
Dr. Lashley ended her presentation, by saying the compass isn’t a total solution but a work in progress with the aim of helping guide educators and the community to help improve literacy.
“Once something resonates with you it never changes. This is what I feel about literacy, and what I carry in my heart about literacy. It’s not going to change. We need to work on it now. It’s going to be the same in five or 10 years down the road because it’s that important. It’s so important that everybody gets involved in this,” she said. “I’ve been in education for over 35 years and most of that time has been spent working on literacy.”
The meeting ended with several community members giving their take on literacy issues and the importance to everyone in Rome and Floyd County. Rome City Schools also encouraged anyone interested in helping to reach out.
