CHS Family Literacy Night and African American Read-In: An Engaging Experience
Frigid temperatures and snow-filled skies did not deter Collinwood students, staff, families and community members from participating in the school’s Family Literacy Night and first African American Read-In program, which culminated Black History Month activities.
Keynote speaker Margret Bernstein, Director of Advocacy and Community Initiatives at WKYC, shared her lifelong passion for reading and her mission to make literacy for all a top educational priority.
Collinwood grad, Ramona Smith delivered a similar message that resonated with the critical importance of early literacy and the need to read, read, read.
Madison Reid, a fourth-grader at Wade Park School and the unofficial ambassador for our city’s
Little Free Libraries warmed everyone’s hearts with a host of stories and thoughts about reading, poetry, and the contributions African Americans have made to our nation’s history. Much to her credit, Madison has already read 10,000 books!
In addition to food, book giveaways and a raffle for a Kindle, the program’s highlight was the reading and recitation of original poems as well as those by notable African-Americans, including Cleveland’s own, Langston Hughes.
Students in Ms. Ora Butler and Ms. Patricia Blackmon’s class were instrumental not only in transforming the multi-purpose room into an extensive display of Black History but also in learning poems, which they shared.
This program was a parent engagement project, planned in partnership with Collinwood High School, Cleveland Public Library, Collinwood Branch, and the Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library.