Central Family Literacy Night helps bridge home and school

By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register

Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in 2016, said,  “Literacy is a foundation for human rights, gender equality and sustainable societies. It is essential to all our efforts to end extreme poverty and promote well-being for all people.”

The importance of literacy includes innumerable cognitive benefits, the majority of which can be found in a research article by the Australian Christian College in 2019, and recently updated earlier this year. One benefit was enhanced brain activity, as cited in an Emory University study published by the journal Brain Connectivity, which found that “reading a novel may cause changes in resting-state connectivity of the brain that persist.”

Reading also introduces new ideas and alternative world views, opening the door to development of critical thinking skills that are highly coveted in the modern workplace, according to an American Management Association (AMA) survey from 2020. This showed critical thinking and problem solving were among the top four attributes employers require.

An article by associate professor Heather Butler published in Scientific American in 2017 stated, “The ability to think critically, on the other hand, has been associated with wellness and longevity.” 

Butler also found in multiple studies that critical thinkers experience fewer bad things in life, which was noted in her own study published in 2024 in the Journal of Intelligence, which said critical thinking could prevent people “from experiencing certain negative life events.”

There are other relevant benefits, including an increased ability to understand others, improved vocabulary and socialization, reduction of stress and memory loss. A 2017 study published in Clinical Psychology Review found evidence that bibliotherapy aided in the management of depression, concluding that “Bibliotherapy appears to be effective in the reduction of adults depressive symptoms in the long-term period.”

In light of that information, it appears near impossible to overstate the importance of literacy, the lack of which, in the words of former Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova, “remains synonymous with exclusion and poverty.”

In that context, the recent report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the 2024 Kid Data Count Book, ranked Iowa 13th nationally in education. Even though the state received a “good” standing, a state-by-state analysis revealed Iowa was slightly below the national average in reading proficiency among fourth graders. That year, the report showed only 67 percent of fourth graders were below proficient, whereas the national average was 68 percent. The report also found that, among those below proficiency, about 81 percent were from low-income families. Rates have held steady the last few years.

The holding steady narrative was also evident in the results of the 2022-2023 Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) that showed 34 percent of third graders were not proficient in English language arts skills and continued to hold steady or fall behind in the most recent ISASP results from the spring of this year. The highlight of those results was that student achievement had either reached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels in language arts across most grade levels.

However, proficiency actually declined by 2 percent among third grade students, falling from 66 percent in 2023 to 64 percent in the 2024 assessment, and even lags behind pre-pandemic levels, when it was 65 percent. For fourth and fifth graders, there was no improvement over last year’s ISASP, as the numbers stagnated at 73  and 69 percent, respectively. Sixth graders improved over last year, going from 73 percent to 74, but for the most part, the numbers have held steady.

It’s a condition Gov. Kim Reynolds declared wasn’t “good enough” and led to the passage of House File 2618, a literacy bill passed in May “that requires evidence-based reading instruction and tailored interventions for students who aren’t proficient.”

“This legislation is an extension of our ongoing effort to make literacy a priority in every Iowa classroom and for every Iowa student,” Reynolds said.

Every Iowa classroom obviously includes Central, who is taking the initiative on literacy, most recently holding a Family Literacy Night. About 190 people attended to “help parents to learn fun, quick, family friendly ways to interact with their children at home in ways that will strengthen their literacy and language development skills,” said Central Elementary Principal Amy Pope.

A joint effort between Central PTO, Kid Central, Central Lead, the high school student council and elementary staff, the event was developed to promote reading and literacy skills for families in a fun and supportive environment and to “help bridge the gap between home and school.”

While this is the first in what should be many attempts to bring families into the building for literacy driven activities, bridging the gap was evident in five breakout rooms, all hosting a different activity focused on phonics, sight words, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Among the activities for families to play together were Bananagrams, Scrabble, sight words, I Spy, a storytelling rope worksheet and forbidden words card game.

“At the end of the night, our goal was that every family goes home empowered, inspired and equipped with a bag full of fun tools to continue their literacy journey at home,” Pope said.

To guide that literacy journey, parents can access slides from literacy night with the above activities, as well as instructions for a cootie catcher to assist in reading comprehension. A BookFlix link provides “access to hundreds of books to read and listen to and games to play that support your reading,” according to Pope.

“We want to partner with families and help them to not only understand how important their role is in their child’s language development, but help them to know how to do so,” Pope said.

Central Elementary scored a “commendable” rating on the 2024 ISASP, earning 439.33 points out of a possible 700, equaling 62.76 percent, slightly above the state average of 60.95 percent. 

For elementary proficiency in English language arts, Central students scored 78.29 percent. This was above the state average of 72.72 percent. When compared against other area schools, Central outperformed Clayton Ridge, Postville, Edgewood-Colesburg and Starmont. Though not an exhaustive list, it demonstrates some of the success Central has had in regard to language arts proficiency.  

“Literacy is so important at every age of development, but the foundation of literacy happens very early with language development. This starts with conversations, experiences and interactions in the home,” Pope said. 

However, Central falls below the state level in terms of growth in English language proficiency or Student Growth Percentile (SGP), which “describes a student’s growth compared to other students with similar prior test scores (their academic peers).” Central scored a 35 out of 100, while the state average was 50, likely indicating that they have seen less growth compared to peers. Central actually scored lower than all of the above comparison schools in this category.

It’s through events such as literacy night that Central looks to strengthen its proficiency, improve literacy and enhance the connection between parents and students, as well as bridge the gap between school and home.

“Central teachers know that making a positive connection between school and home is essential for the educational success of their students. The Family Literacy Night is one way we can make sure this happens,” Pope said.