JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan is looking to tackle literacy through a new initiative. The Mayor is launching the 'River City Readers' which aims to promote reading through a little fun and competition.
"If we can give kids some fun books to get started with, get their parents engaged with them and get them reading; 20 minutes a day, that's the goal, whatever they want to read, and then we can create some competition around how well they do that, I think that we're going to have a wonderful time with our kids. We're also going to create a path for success," Mayor Deegan said.
The initiative kicks-off with an event Saturday, Jan. 27th, at the Main Library Downtown. Kids will be given free books to get them started and parents will be encouraged to download the app, 'Bean Stack,' to track their progress. Through the app, kids can log how many minutes they read each day.
"At the end of the year, whoever has the most reading hours, we'll have prizes for those people. And I think kids love competition," Deegan explained.
This initiative is more than just fun for the kids. Deegan said less than half of third graders are reading on grade level in Duval County. The district said while they are working to improve those scores, DCPS graduation rate is at a record high of 87.2%, and fourth and eighth grade students score in the top five of similar urban districts around the nation on national assessments. Mayor Deegan believes improving reading scores will not only help students in the classroom, but in all areas of their lives.
"We know that that 66% of our kids who aren't reading at grade level by the fourth grade, either end up in jail or on welfare. And so that's really a statement about not only crime prevention, but also quality of life, and eventually something that affects the entire community," Deegan said.
The event starts at 10 a.m. at the Main Library downtown. To register, click here.