Oh! When All Children Can Read!
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I’m sorry to say so, but sadly it’s true.
Not all children can read. But we know what to do.
We must look to the data and study the trends.
Then change our behaviors, and work with our friends.
Generational poverty is the foe that we fight.
But we wield a fierce weapon to vanquish this blight.
That weapon is literacy. Our children must read.
A foundation for learning—that’s what they need.
Where do we start? Don’t worry. Don’t stew.
We must bolster connections. That’s our first clue.
Agencies, systems, parents and kids, must collaborate now.
Or that achievement gap widens, which we cannot allow.
But we don’t have much time to get this thing right.
The pathway to language is narrow and tight.
We must chat with our children.
To them we must read.
Those brains in their heads—it’s development they need.
From birth to grade K. That’s when we must act.
One thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine days—plus one—to be exact.
When all kids are equipped to read on grade level.
That’s when Georgia will prosper. In that we’ll all revel.
Our kids will stand out in school, college, career.
A message all Georgians simply must hear.
So… be your county Wilkinson, Treutlen, Taliaferro, or Towns,
Screven or Bleckley, Bulloch or Lowndes, we’re off to Great Places! Today is our day!
Our kids, they’re all waiting.
So let’s get on our way!