Cobb Collaborative Concludes Summer Reading Programming

August 5, 2024 Print This Post

From the Marietta Daily Journal

Cobb Collaborative, a Georgia Family Connection Collaborative, and the local point of contact for the Get Georgia Reading Campaign, recently concluded its summer literacy programming to support Marietta City Schools students and families.

The Collaborative partnered with Marietta City Schools, Cobb County Public Library, McCleskey-East Cobb YMCA and Y.E.L.L.S. Inc. to ensure over 200 children had access to books, educational materials and resources.

Earlier this year, the Cobb Collaborative was awarded a competitive grant from the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early language and Literacy to expand its early-learning program, The Basics Cobb County.

“With 80% of the foundation of a child’s brain development occurring in the first three years of life, these early years are critical in supporting kindergarten readiness, a predictor of future reading proficiency,” said Irene M. Barton, Executive Director of the Cobb Collaborative. “This directly supports our partnership with Marietta City Schools as part of the Literacy & Justice For All program to ensure all children are reading proficiently by 3rd grade.”

The Emily Lembeck Early Learning Center hosted a five-week school readiness program for 25 dual language learners beginning in June. The program included parent leadership and educational programs which included connection to bilingual Basics resources like videos, print materials and tactile assets.

“The Basics framework encourages parents and caregivers to use every day moments with intentionality,” said the Cobb Collaborative’s Literacy Coordinator Leslie Danford. “Throughout every day, there are many opportunities to have conversations with your child, which is how they start to understand the world they live in.”

During June and July, Collaborative staff and partners made weekly visits to five multi-family communities in Marietta, reaching 183 unique family units. The cross-sector team shared Basics resources with younger children and distributed books to encourage all children to participate in the Cobb Public Library’s summer reading program. Each child tracked their reading hours on a weekly basis, totaling over 28,166 minutes of reading—nearly 20 days of nonstop reading.

“We were so pleased to be able to expand our programming to include two new communities this summer,” said Katherine Zavalla of the Community and User Engagement department at Cobb County Public Library. “The children were pleased to bring their tracking sheets each week, receive their stickers and choose books for the upcoming week. We also share the many year-round programs that the library has to offer families.”

The summer reading series concluded with visits from Marietta City Schools Superintendent Dr. Grant Rivera, snacks, games and the opportunity to select books to keep. The Collaborative was also able to sponsor a reading club for children at one apartment community, led by the local Literacy Ambassador.

“Our Literacy Ambassadors are parent peer leaders who share information and resources with the families in their school communities and neighborhood not just about the importance of reading with your child, but also the many ways that caregivers can support their child’s educational journey,” said Danford.

While the summer programming is ending, the Collaborative will continue to support a variety of literacy-based programs and activities throughout the school year including pop-up book distributions, Basics Playground Paloozas, family reading kits, restocking of Little Free Libraries and community events.

“As reflected in our name, we embrace collaborating with other organizations across our community to leverage our impact and serve children and families,” said Barton. “While our goal is to improve 3rd grade reading scores by ensuring students are kindergarten ready, our guiding principle is to empower students and support families to build a thriving community. We thank the Deal Center for naming us a 2024 Community Coalition grantee, allowing us to reach more children.”

For more information, visit thebasicscobbcounty.org or contact thebasics@cobbcollaborative.org.

Read this story on mdjonline.com.