Indy group helps parents understand how kids learn to read
INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Diana Hernandez wants her children to experience reading like she never did.
The mother of three makes sure her kids spend 45 minutes reading every day regardless of whether they’re at home or at the lake or on a car ride. The Indy westsider likes to read with her kids, but when she can’t or when they want to read alone, she’s always sure to ask them questions about their stories.
She also plays games with her kids and practices interactive reading — all ideas she learned about from education nonprofit RISE INDY’s Freedom Readers program. She said it’s made a difference in her kids’ relationship with reading and empowered her to get more involved with their school.
Understanding the ‘science of reading’
RISE INDY launched its Freedom Readers program a little over a year ago after a series of listening sessions with parents and community members. RISE INDY CEO Jasmin Shaheed-Young said it became clear from those conversations that a student’s development of strong reading skills is key to unlocking their potential and, for some families, breaking a cycle of generational poverty.
The group took a trip with city leaders and other elected officials to Oakland, California, where they learned about citywide tutoring efforts and took inspiration for launching similar programs in Indianapolis. Their exploration came amid a statewide push and unprecedented private sector support for tackling a reading crisis in Indiana that has seen nearly one in five students in recent years fail to pass the state’s third grade reading exam.
In response to the trend, Indiana lawmakers enacted new policies requiring schools to teach with science-backed reading approaches that emphasize strong phonics, vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
Freedom Readers seeks to explain these changes to parents so they can support the new methods at home. The workshops are free, offered several times a year and occasionally feature themes tying reading into other subjects like math or music. So far, Freedom Readers has reached more than 350 parents and 500 students.
“This is really about parents,” Shaheed-Young said. “There’s so much freedom that comes when you’re able to truly understand and access reading.”
‘Our children only need a little push’
Each Freedom Readers workshop begins with an explanation of national literacy trends, so parents understand that when it comes to developing strong reading skills for their children, they’re not in it alone.
The workshops then offer help interpreting test scores and supply parents with reading activities they can try at home with their kids. Each workshop is offered in both English and Spanish.
That came as welcome news to Hernandez, whose first language is Spanish and spoke to Mirror Indy using a translator.
[Indy Documenters notes: Freedom Readers introduced at City-County Council education committee. ]
She said she chooses books for her kids — who are students at the dual-language school, Global Preparatory Academy — that are written in both English and Spanish. She says it’s important for them to stay connected to their roots and culture and to communicate in an increasingly bilingual world.
Hernandez, who taught herself to read, said instruction today is different from when she was young. She said Freedom Readers helped her learn about specific elements of reading such as fluency and comprehension. Her daughter, Amy Alfonseca, was one of several in her school who ended the year with a President’s Award for Educational Achievement award.
“Our children only need a little push,” Hernandez told Mirror Indy through the translator. “Our children, seeing that we’re involved in their education can get them anywhere.”
Helping kids ‘level up’
Shcarlett Estrada, a RISE INDY organizer, said her 4-year-old and 9-year-old are musical and often too active to sit still for long periods of reading time, so she uses tips picked up from the group’s recent Rhythm to Reading workshop to incorporate song into their at-home reading routines.
“Repetition, consistency and practicing the words, those are our biggest things,” Estrada said.
Shaheed-Young said the program has measured its success in the past through parent surveys, asking about what families notice in their students’ reading habits before and after the workshops. Are their kids choosing more challenging material? Are they reading faster? Do they enjoy what they’re doing?
So far, Shaheed-Young said, 70% of parents have said they believe their kids are taking on more difficult books and 85% have said they feel like their kids have a deeper appreciation and love for reading. RISE INDY plans to introduce benchmark testing in future Freedom Readers workshops to get a better feel for how students’ skills are developing.
Hernandez is one of those parents who say they’ve seen their kids tackling bigger books. Alfonseca, who is 12 years old, told Mirror Indy she likes to read chapter books but also admires good art in the stories she reads, too.
“It’s very helpful,” Alfonseca said of Freedom Readers. “I like how I leveled up my reading.”
Freedom Readers’ next workshop
RISE INDY’s next Freedom Readers workshop will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 27 at Vision Academy, 1751 E. Riverside Drive. Child care is available for kids ages 3 to 12 and lunch will be provided.
This month, Freedom Readers organizers will give out free back-to-school supplies and enter the names of those who bring their students’ NWEA test scores or report cards into a special prize giveaway.
Another workshop will be offered from 5-7 p.m. August 15 at Enlace Academy, 3725 N. Kiel Ave.
Those interested in attending can sign up on the RISE Indy website.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.