On Wednesday, Paycom donated $50,000 to the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation. The money will go towards the foundations "ReadOKC Initiative".
Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation President Mary Melon-Tully says that thanks to community partners like Paycom, they're able to buy books for their "Read OKC On the Go" bus. “This gift from Paycom is so beneficial to us because it allows us to continue to build that book inventory that has to be constantly filled,” says Tully.
The ReadOKC Initiative offers multiple programs to enrich reading skills.
"We do reading challenges to promote reading during school breaks. We have a volunteer that puts caring adults with kids called reading buddies,” Tully says.
Unlike most mobile libraries, student are able to take a book of their choice home to keep.
"We've given away more than 25,000 books. So, they go off that library and they'll never come back. So, we have to constantly be filling that inventory," says Tully.
After last year’s low "NAEP" reading scores educators around the state have been working to improve literacy in schools. Wheeler Middle School Principal Deserae Jackson says at her school they allot specific reading time to encourage students to pick up a book and put down the phone.
"We do a lot of D.E.A.R. reading at school. We spend Thursday mornings, and everybody just picks their favorite book, and everyone stops what they're doing, and we all read together,” says Jackson.
“Consistency is everything and a consistent focus on reading is going to make a difference. Our district is focused on all of the right things and we will start to see reading scores go up," says Tully.
Many factors led to the drop in scores including the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, students had to rely more on their parents to help with schoolwork. Oklahoma Literacy Coalition Executive Director Laura Taylor says some students struggled because some parents had difficulty reading themselves.
"If you have parents that can't read than obviously, they can't help with homework or with things that come from school. If they get a note from the student’s teacher, they don't know what that means necessarily," says Taylor.
More than 500,000 Oklahoma adults are considered functional illiterate. The Oklahoma Literacy Coalition supports statewide literacy efforts for Oklahoma adults. Taylor encourages adults who need help to reach out so they can better support their child.
“Don't feel like you're alone. There are so many across the state that need help and coming to a site that offers assistance is a great way to find community," says Taylor.
As the end of school year approaches, summer reading programs are preparing for another round of summer learning.
“We've always felt like if you can read than you can learn to comprehend what you read. Math is not necessarily reading but you need reading in order to do math. So, reading is important to us because it is the foundation to one's life" says Gina Darby, Director of Oklahoma Youth Literacy Program.
"Literacy is so important. I know you might be familiar with the concept of the summer slide. So, if children don't read during the summer, they can drop one to two reading levels. It is really important that kids get that literacy and that instruction,” says ViaFaith McCullough, Director of Project Transformation Oklahoma.
Project Transformation Oklahoma is an educational program offered by the Oklahoma Conference of the United Methodist Church. The program can be found at multiple churches around the state. Project Transformation Oklahoma provides week-long educational instruction for children throughout the summer.
“Our mission is to engage college age young adults, children, and churches in purposeful relationships. We do that by hosting summer programs where students get to read with a mentor for thirty minutes a day, they get a healthy lunch and breakfast,” says McCullough.
As a former project transformation camper herself, McCullough saw first-hand the difference summer education can make. She also served in the program as young adult.
“I saw the impact of what it meant to really have those young adults look at you and believe in you and care about you. That translated into my experience participating as a member because it was my goal to make sure that, no matter where the child was or where they were at when they came into my space, they felt safe and like I believed in them.” says McCullough.
On the northwest side of Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Youth Literacy Program also focuses on reading but incorporates other fun educational aspects as well.
“The first part of the week or two we do a reading assessment with every child. We start at PreK 3. We believe the most influential age is 0-7 so we start at 3 years old and go all the way to 9th grade.” says Darby.
When students returned to the classroom after hybrid-learning ended, teachers spent weeks re-teaching material student forgot due to the pandemic and the summer slide.
"We're just big on making sure they're not losing what they could potentially lose if someone wasn't there leading and directing them into the path that they need to go.” says Darby.
Both programs are currently accepting applications for summer learning.
"We're looking for passionate college age young adults who are interested in working with kids and want to give back to the community and we are interested in volunteers that can help read with the kids," says McCullough.
At the Capitol, lawmakers are also looking to promote Early Childhood literacy. Last week, Senate Bill 528, which could create the Early Childhood literacy task force, passed in the Senate.