ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Literacy is a key issue in New York state, with recent Education Department data showing only about half of students scored as “proficient” in English language arts exams last year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has dedicated thousands of dollars to boost the state’s lagging reading proficiency. The Rochester chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library received $500,000 to increase access to books statewide.
One local mother says she is seeing the benefits of the program in her child.
Erica Tywman knows the importance of reading to her children, especially her 3-year-old son Christian.
“My son here was born in 2021 and we were patients at Golisano Children’s Hospital, so the pediatric practice offered a program, a children’s book program, and asked if we were interested and I said 'of course,'” said Tywman.
Although Christian sounds talkative now, it took a lot to get here.
“When Christian was about a year old, we noticed that he wasn’t saying as many words as other babies his age so we got evaluated by his provider and she actually referred us to a speech therapist where he was diagnosed with a speech delay,” Tywman said.
All three of her children are enrolled in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that sends free books through the mail to families.
“Every month we get a book in the mail and it helps Christian with his speech, reading and sounding out words," she said.
Research from the Child Mind Institute shows that reading to young children helps lay the neurological groundwork for effective language use and literacy.
“Early neurodevelopment outcomes really inform how children end up learning in later years, including high school graduation rates, core health outcome predictors,” said Matt Present, founder and director of the Rochester Chapter of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
It's a big benefit as the nation continues to battle back from learning deficits that were incurred during the pandemic.
“This is one of the best ways to do it, to take those first couple of years when kids' brains are at their spongiest and really make sure that we’re doing all of the things necessary to get them to a place where they’re confident,” Present said.
It's making Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library a useful tool to boost reading proficiency levels, especially for single mothers.
“The impact it has on moms alone is just outstanding because especially as a single mom you always can’t afford to go out and have the pleasure of even reading, basic fundamentals that kids don’t always have access to,” said Tywman.
It's an even greater tool for kids like Christian.
“It's like amazing the words he’s saying. He went from about 10 words, he’s probably up to about 20 words now," Tywman said.
