Read Ready Dayton is an initiative aimed at improving kindergarten readiness and reading skills throughout the city.
It’s part of a broader regional effort, promoted by EducateNKY, a nonprofit dedicated to improving education outcomes throughout Northern Kentucky. With the inclusion of Southgate Read Ready earlier this month, all the river cities have signed onto the Read Ready program.
Dayton is in the early stages of the program. At the October city council meeting, members of EducateNKY presented city leaders with a check for $12,000 to help kick off the initiative. The first step in the program is the creation of a collaborative team of people from the schools, city and community.
“This is a planning grant, which means we are putting resources behind the launch of Read Ready Dayton in conjunction with your neighboring municipalities,” said EducateNKY President and CEO Cheye Calvo. “Our hope is that you are able to put together a robust plan in partnership with your schools, your nonprofits, the libraries, and all the community activities.”
Council had some questions. Member Joe Neary asked how the money would be applied.
“We’re in the very early stages of this program, so we’re putting together our local team, and once we get together, they’re basically saying it’s up to us to decide how you want to use that,” said City Administrator Jay Fossett.
In Covington, where the Read Ready program began, Fossett said one project was to include signs throughout town with pictures of objects and words in both English and Spanish.
That is only one small example, he said. Once the Dayton team is created and meets, they will discuss ideas and develop projects that align with the Dayton community and the available resources. Right now, he added, it’s too early to know.
“I think now we’re at a stage where we organize with a local team,” said Jenny Watson, vice president of Early Learning & Family Power at EducateNKY.
“I know [Dayton Schools] Superintendent Wolf has some ideas with his team he wants to put on the committee, as well as any influential leaders, parent leaders and community leaders,” said Watson. “We’ll form that committee, and then we will do an asset map and figure out what we already have in place, and then we’ll look at what we can elevate.”
She noted EducateNKY has some resources available, such as the Footsteps to Brilliance reading app and an alignment with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. In fact, she said, every baby born in St. Elizabeth Edgewood hospital is now enrolled in the Imagination Library before they leave the hospital, a coordinated effort between local libraries in partnership with St. Elizabeth nurses in the postpartum unit.
“That’s one of many many ideas,” said Watson. “That’s where that power of the local sense of place comes in, because we want to use the assets here in Dayton and elevate those.”