Ep 217 | Academic success starts with FREE on-campus reading help!

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So the YMCA has three initiatives that it focuses on, literacy being one of them. And the Florida State Alliance started roughly 25 years ago bringing in literacy-based programs through the YMCA. And so our CEO Michael, he decided, hey, this is something that Pensacola could really benefit from, just looking at the literacy rates in Escambia County. We started with one Y Read site through funding from Regents Bank. And then we got our grant with the ECT. We have four Y Read sites, and then we moved to seven Y Read sites. And now we are expanding even larger to YMCA Bright Pathways.

SPEAKER_01 0:43

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every child in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support your child's success. When you're a kid, you have your whole life ahead of you. But in order to take full advantage of all the possibilities, one thing must be true. You need to be a strong reader. My next guest is the literacy director of the YMCA Bright Pathways Program of Northwest Florida, an on-campus literacy-based tutoring program for kids K through fifth grade. Today she's going to share the impact of the program and how it all works. Building academic confidence and strong futures from Kentucky to Florida, Erica Anderson. Thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

Thanks for having me. That was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Well, I'm glad you liked it, and I'm glad that we are doing this because these are such good programs and it's such an important topic. I've heard some interesting philosophies around child literacy specifically that I'd like to run by you. Maybe we'll do some myth busting. I don't know. We'll see. One is that a child will just naturally learn to read when they are ready. And the other is some kids just aren't readers. Is there any truth to either of those?

SPEAKER_00 2:11

No, those are all myths. No hesitation. Absolutely not. Literacy is something that is taught. Phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, those are the foundational principles of literacy. And then you get into the read and comprehension. All of these skills are taught to students. Now, when you talk about some kids not being readers, that may mean that they might not have a love for reading. But first, kids need to learn to read before they can read to learn. And then they have to learn to read before they can love to read.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Interesting. Okay, so there's layers. There's layers that probably the adult who birthed said child may have forgotten along the years. And that may be why that myth continues to float around in the ether.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

Yeah, and then literacy is also research-backed. So you have the science of reading, which is a research strategy for people who teach literacy. That has changed over the years. The research has changed over the years. We used to do balanced literacy, and you know, some of their parents might have those types of structures.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

But okay, let's unpack that because you just said something so major just there. Because there's this research floating around that like a large percentage of American people are illiterate functionally, right? And and a lot of that is the numbers are a little funky, but the idea around it, the methodology around it is a big part of that story. Because we started out with phonics-based teaching. Right. And then the trend went to balanced literacy. And there was also some whole method was in there, I think, a little bit where kids would kind of be encouraged to use context, pictures, and prior knowledge to guess, literally guess the words, which is not at all reading. And so, and now we've kind of swung back to that. Famously, that case in Mississippi called the Mississippi Miracle in 2013, where they brought their, I think it was their fourth grade reading level from way low to super high, going back to that phonics-based reading specifically and science of reading approach. Absolutely. So that's so cool that that's what we're doing here in Escambia County. It definitely works. That's amazing. So, what's the significance of YMCA's interest in youth literacy?

SPEAKER_00 4:32

So the YMCA started an initiative, it has three initiatives that it focuses on, literacy being one of them. And the Florida State Alliance started roughly 25 years ago bringing in literacy-based programs through the YMCA. And so our CEO, Michael, he decided hey, this is something that Pensacola could really benefit from, just looking at the literacy rates in Escambia County. We started with one Y Read site through funding from Regents Bank. And then we got our grant with the ECT. We have four Y Read sites, and then we moved to seven Y Read sites. And now we are expanding even larger to YMCA bright pathways.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

Oh wow, that's exciting. I love that it's both a YMCA-wide interest and a local Pensacola interest. I think that's what makes these nonprofits powerful, is when they can pivot and respond to community needs. The program is designed to build kids into strong academically in general, but strong readers when they're young. Is there a reason that it's K through fifth grade specifically? Because I'm wondering in the reading department, why not wait to see if they can catch up when they're a little less wiggly? You know what I mean? Like after fifth grade.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Well, no, we want to we want to tackle this almost immediately, kindergarten being immediately, because this is typically when children start to learn to read. There is research that shows that if students are not reading by third grade, then there is essentially a jail cell waiting for them. And so we have designed this program to make sure that we are closing the gap at a very young age. We don't want it to even really get past third grade. But if students are still struggling to read after third grade, then we have this program put in place to really close that gap before they go beyond.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

A literal jail cell or is this a literal, a literal.

SPEAKER_00 6:25

I mean, so not a metaphor. Not a metaphor. We want to really close the school to prison pipeline through our program.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

That is powerful. I mean, that's more than just like, oh, isn't my kid cute?

SPEAKER_00 6:36

They can read this cute book that grandma gave them. No, if you really look at the research, it's it's insane.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

So who's eligible for the program?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

We service our students in Title I schools. And so any student who is performing lower academically, we partner with the school administrators and we partner with the teachers and say, hey, would this student be a good fit for the program? Or do you have any students who would be a good fit for the program? And they'll provide us with a list of students who could use a little extra push in literacy.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

So is that you kind of brokering that relationships between the school and the program enrollment?

SPEAKER_00 7:13

Yeah, me paired with our awesome site coordinators and our site assistants, they do a lot of good work with building relationships with the school and just it's a great collaborative relationship.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

So it's really based on that recommendation of the people that are getting FaceTime with the kids. So it's not necessarily like we're looking at this piece of paper or this, you know, database.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah, we we take recommendations from what the students know about the children as well as what the data is saying. We're very data-driven in bright pathways. And so we're looking at PM scores, PM1 scores, and getting them in as early as August. We're looking at PM3 scores from the previous year and seeing if they could benefit. We're looking at students who may come from lower incomes and saying, hey, this is a great opportunity for after school care for families. And it's a free program that families can really utilize. And it not only is it just for play, but they're also learning something every day.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Yeah. And the reason that there's that connection between the title one, these these kids are experiencing poverty and the the literacy is because that literacy is the bridge out of that scenario. We're breaking generational curses. I mean, that is powerful. Oh, thank you, the geese. I love that. And it's in the schools, it's on the campus. So kids don't have to get extra transportation. That's major.

SPEAKER_00 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

Okay. What does it look like? Who are the people coming in and facilitating these learning sessions with the kids?

SPEAKER_00 8:44

So each day at every site, there's a site coordinator. The site coordinator is highly trained and there is a site assistant, and they come in and they structure the program. They have a literacy block, they have a component with IXL math, they have a social and emotional learning component, they have a movement component where they go outside and do structured activities, and then they have a healthy choice component where we're giving students access to fruits and veggies and different healthy choices that they might not see at home.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

That's incredible. That's very holistic. I hate to use that word because it's so overused, but it really is a total picture of wellness and possibilities.

SPEAKER_00 9:22

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 9:23

And so let's say that the kids are in school from like 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Can you kind of like walk me through what happens next? Like they go to the cafeteria and then the site coordinator comes.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

It's different at each site. Whatever is the safest for the schools and whatever we have collaborated with the schools. So that might mean that the teachers are dropping the students off to the Bright Pathways classroom on their way out towards dismissal, or all of the students are gathered around and the site coordinator is waiting for them in the cafeteria. Or there's like a set meeting spot. But the number one priority is safety. So whatever makes sense and whatever is the safest for all of our students to be accounted for as they transition from their school day to bright pathways is what we work with the schools to do. And how long are the sessions? Bright pathways is roughly two and a half hours after school.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

Oh, wow. And then how do the students get home?

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Their parents come and pick them up or their families come and pick them up.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Half of the transportation needed. Okay. I love that. And you said there's a site coordinator. There's two people on site. Are these volunteers or are these YMCA? They're employees. Employees. Okay. And how are they trained?

SPEAKER_00 10:33

So I go through an extensive training with them. We have a curriculum called SIPS that we use. And so we train them on this curriculum. They go through a CPR training through the YMCA. They go through a child abuse training. They go through extensive training to be able to child abuse, like in case the child discloses. Just to know more about child abuse and what to look for and just the different signs. And you know, sometimes children will say certain things and you want to have these red flag buzzwords and you want to kind of investigate more, but you don't want to ring the alarm if it's just a child saying something.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Something crazy.

SPEAKER_00 11:10

Something crazy.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Yeah, yeah. But you don't want to shut the child down because because they usually um do a little test to see is this person safe will they listen to me. Wow, that's incredible. What would be the difference between a bright pathways instructor and a parent who is just like helping their kid with reading? Because I think sometimes, you know, people would listen to a resource like this and think, oh, I mean, that's good and all, but can't parents do that at home?

SPEAKER_00 11:37

Yeah, most of our coordinators have been certified teachers. They have a wide range of experience with teaching children, or they have a wide range of experience with literacy. And so we are looking for that as we are in our hiring process for coordinators. And then we choose our site assistants based off of their experiences working with children as well. We're not just picking anybody off the street who just has kids and has worked with their own children, but someone who really shows a passion for working with children who are struggling readers or are low-performing academically.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Yeah, passion and skill set, it sounds like passion and experience. Yeah, that's key. Well, how would the teaching process change if English isn't the student's first language? That's a good question.

SPEAKER_00 12:21

So a lot of what we do is we don't really change our teaching process. What we do is kind of provide supplements in whatever language of the family, mainly for parent communication. However, what we do find is specifically for our Spanish speaking community, is that what we do on our program not only is teaching them to be better readers, but teaching them to be better English speakers as well.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

What about if a student has a cognitive disability? Would that be in the scope of what your mentors are equipped to help the student with?

SPEAKER_00 12:58

We'll work with the school staff to see what accommodations that child may need and if we're able to provide those accommodations, if we're able to train our staff to be able to accommodate those students. There have been times where that has been beyond what we're able to do, but there have been times where we have been able to accommodate for the students' needs. And that's always our hope for the first choice.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

When it comes to family reinforcement of what this program is helping to build up in a student, are there certain things that you see work better than others? I'm asking because I'm wondering, like, like in the case of literacy, how a parent would be able to support that in if reading at home is enough, or are there practical tips that can help a parent incorporate those skills that the child is newly acquiring to really stick?

SPEAKER_00 13:50

Yeah, we send resources home. It just depends on what the child needs and what they're working on. We send resources home to the families and say, hey, this is the skills that they're working on. Let's take it back to A says I. We're saying ACS A, show them different things that use the A sound around the house. Apple, apricot.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

I was gonna say alligator, but I hope they don't have an alligator sitting around the house.

SPEAKER_00 14:13

Yeah, different things like that. And because the parents pick them up or the families picked them up, that's a perfect touch point to give them a quick gem that they can use at home.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

I love that. This is so exciting. You are so passionate about all of this. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 14:28

This is my passion. Why is that?

SPEAKER_01 14:30

What's spurred that for you?

SPEAKER_00 14:32

I started my career as a teacher, and literacy has always been something that I've enjoyed reading on my own, but to teach reading is something that I really strayed away from. I'm like, this is difficult. I don't know how to teach reading. And I had a lot of great coaches and a lot of great mentors really pour into me to overcome that struggle so much that I began to love it. I began to dive into the research and see that this really does work. And so I started to just build my craft and literacy and just it just fell in my lap for being something that I love. And yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

What do you think the lasting impact is for kids who go from their maybe sight word guessing, you know, just kind of seeing the shape of the letters and going, oh, that combination of shapes is the word school, yeah, to really using those phonics and and sounding it out. What's the difference maker for them?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

I think it's just when they learn to read, actually learn to read. There's this aha flashlight that goes on that just once that flashlight turns on, it ignites this level of confidence in them. And it's not something that we say, wow, you're becoming a more confident reader. They feel it. You can tell in the way that they walk, in the way that they talk, in the way that they're eager to read. And I think it's just the skills that our coordinators and assistants pour into them, their teachers as well, pour into them that builds that confidence.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

That's such a good point. Cause when I think about being in a foreign country and not speaking the language, and you look all around you and you can't understand, you're like it's like you're not a part of the world you're in. You feel out of place. Yeah. And what a terrible feeling to like go on your whole life feeling like, I don't belong here. This is not for me. And when you become a reader, you're like, yeah, I'm a part of this.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yeah, it's crazy that you equate it to like being in a foreign country because it is just that. And then the longer that you're in this foreign country and you start to see things that are familiar to you, you're like, Oh, I can go and order a cheeseburger, I can go and order a pizza. And you have these skills that set you up for just everyday life. And I think that they feel that when they learn to read.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Oh, that's so beautifully said. Thank you so much for sharing this. Not if a parent wants to make sure that the school that their child is in is connected to this program. Is there a way that they can do that?

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Yeah, they can reach out to the YMCA directly and ask more questions about the YMCA Bright Pathways uh program or ask for me directly at the YMCA Erica Anderson.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

Okay, perfect. Thank you, Erica. This was great. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.