KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On National Read Across America Day, it's a celebration in classrooms - for children and adults.
Nina Jackson has been a Literacy KC student for six months.
"Since I started here, I came a long way, compared to when I first started," she said in the midst of her fifth attempt at acquiring her GED, with the support of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
"They're all for it, they’ve got my back, that’s why I’m going all the way," she said.
Bernadette Graves is in her second year at Literacy KC.
"When I started coming here, I wanted to learn how to read," she said, now a bookworm.
"I’m reading everything under the sun. I even got books on my bedside," she said. "When I’m tired watching TV, I turn over, and I start reading."
Nina Jackson and Bernadette Graves are two success stories, learning from the likes of Dianne Brewington, a five-year instructor at Literacy KC whose students ages range from 17 to 73 years old.
"It’s not where you start, it’s where you end, and that’s what I tell them all the time," Brewington said.
This is a central piece of Literacy KC's mission to close the gap.
"We have 225,000 adults who are low literate, and children who have low literate parents are 72% more likely to be low literate themselves," Autumn Burton, Literacy KC's chief program officer, said. "This is a really significant issue for our community that needs our attention."
Programs are free to those 16 and older, primarily funded by the Missouri Department of Education. Literacy KC said their doors are open - to break a stigma.
"Literacy skill is not an indication of intelligence," Burton said.
Doors are also open to write new beginnings, for students and their loved ones.
"They make a statement that I’ve always wanted to do this, imagine what that does for younger people," Brewington said.
Burton thinks it can make Kansas City a better place.
"They’re able to then take that next step in their journey and create a stronger Kansas City," Burton said.
For more information about what Literacy KC has to offer in our community, click here.
