Vision
Teach My Kid to Read has a vision of a world where all kids have access to resources that help them learn to read.
Mission
To bridge the literacy gap with libraries and communities.
Our Story
In 2019, Teach My Kid to Read (TMKTR) initiated the first widespread programming to educate public librarians about the process of learning to read and how decodable books support skilled reading. Librarians and library staff are educated about the literacy crisis, the importance of language skills and decoding skills, signs of dyslexia, building literacy skills through library activities, decodable books, and how to create decodable book collections and literacy hubs.
TMKTR focuses on the following three areas :
- Librarian and Library Staff professional development and training about literacy, creating collections of literacy resources such as decodable (sound-aloud) books, and literacy events and outreach.
- Operational Support accessing and creating collections of decodable books and literacy hubs.
- Guidance creating literacy events, outreach, and educating patrons and the community about decodable books and literacy resources.
All of our work is supported through Teach My Kid to Read’s Road to Decode Online Community.
After participating in TMKTR programming, 100% of all librarians said they are likely or highly likely to learn more about ways to help more kids learn to read and to stock resources such as decodable books!
In the program’s first year, TMKTR partnered with over fifty libraries in New York and other states that heard about the program. As a result, TMKTR has provided professional development or Webinars to six of New York’s twenty-three library systems, training upwards of 240 librarians representing rural, suburban, and urban communities. In addition, TMKTR has presented at state librarian meetings, librarian organizations in Michigan, and library systems throughout Illinois.
In Albany, New York’s South End, TMKTR sponsors an Impact Library with Little Free Library to reach communities without public libraries and as an outreach model. The South End is a densely populated, high-needs community 91 percent minority. The library is part of The Read in Color program that provides diverse literature to children in neighborhoods with less access to books. Combining the Read in Color program with TMKTR’s literacy resources has enabled TMKTR to provide over one-hundred books per week to a neighborhood in need and improve literacy through outreach connections with other nonprofits.
TMKTR is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit with a mission to provide librarians, parents, and caregivers, with the tools to help all kids learn to read.