Methuen Literacy Partnership Launch
Written by: Krista McLeod
On Tuesday evening, March 24th, The Methuen Literacy Partnership held a launch event at the newly-refurbished library space at the Timony Grammar School in Methuen. Over forty interested residents and community members gathered to learn more about the developing plans for the Partnership. Since the introduction of the Partnership last September, the group’s founding steering committee has been conducting surveys and research, gathering support, and spreading the word about this new effort to involve our community in a campaign to support grade-level reading in our Methuen Schools.
The Partnership was founded last year by Mary Beth Donovan Grassi (retired Tenney School Principal), Krista McLeod (Retired Nevins Library Director), State Representative Ryan Hamilton and Amy Dorsheimer (Head of Youth Services at the Nevins Library), with strong support from consultants Dr. Jessica Kallin and Jessi Magee. Dr Kallin was formerly the Executive Director of Haverhill Promise, a similar organization promoting literacy skills for children. The Partnership was formed under the umbrella leadership of the Nevins Library and the Methuen Public Schools, and is now reaching out to other individuals and organizations in the community to launch programs and grow the local commitment to helping improve children’s reading and support their love of books.
Through early research, the Partnership has decided to focus on three program areas,
Early Childhood Literacy
Stopping the Summer Reading Slide
Community & Family Engagement in Reading
The March 24th Launch event was held to gather more ideas and input from the community to build programs around these three focus areas, and to recruit volunteers to help with organizing sub-committees. Breaking into small groups to brainstorm, attendees came up with many innovative ways to develop programs to enhance childhood literacy in Methuen. Among these ideas were the following:
Community wants neighborhood-focused events
Multilingual materials are a top priority
Excitement for pen pal programs and summer reading challenges
Engaging a variety of volunteers to help with projects, especially Senior Citizens
Best ways to reach the whole community
Kids need books at home as well as library access
The Partnership will be forming subcommittees in April and May to organize activities beginning this summer and next school year. If you are interested in participating on a Committee, let us know by emailing contact@methuenreads.org
Keep up with the Partnership’s efforts by checking the website at www.methuenreads.org or liking us on FaceBook at Methuen Literacy Partnership.