Building Readers. Preparing Leaders. See Our 2025 Impact.

Written by Read USA Inc. | Oct 7, 2026, 2:36:16 PM

What happens when a community comes together around literacy and opportunity?

In 2025, hundreds of elementary students strengthened critical reading skills, teens gained real-world workforce experience, educators expanded their impact, and thousands of children across Duval County gained access to books of their own.

Our 2025 Impact Report is now available, highlighting the measurable progress made possible by our donors, funders, partners, volunteers, educators, and supporters.

A few highlights from 2025 include:

Nearly 630 elementary students received 17,875 Literacy Tutoring lessons from more than 230 tutors who were supervised and coached by 110 teachers.
Students participating in READ USA Literacy Tutoring outpaced their comparison-group peers in reading growth, demonstrating the accelerated progress needed to help close the literacy gap.
READ USA’s 15th Annual Book Fairs reached 36,600+ students across 77 DCPS elementary schools, putting 73,200+ free books into the hands, homes, and hearts of young readers.

And the impact extends beyond the numbers. READ USA’s model connects literacy and workforce development—helping elementary students become stronger readers while giving local teens opportunities to build the communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and professional skills that prepare them for what comes next.

THANK YOU to every donor, funder, partner, educator, volunteer, and supporter who came to the table in 2025. Your investment, generosity, partnership, and trust made this impact possible and continue to open doors for the children and teens we are honored to serve.

Literacy Takes the Field at Highlands Elementary!

Spirits were high at Highlands Elementary School this week for a special Literacy Locker Room hosted by the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation and sponsored by JEA.

More than 340 Highlands students took part in the schoolwide literacy celebration, gathering for a special assembly featuring Jacksonville Jaguars legend Arrelious Benn, Jaxson De Ville and members of the ROAR.

The celebration continued as students explored a selection of more than 350 free, brand-new books, with each participating student choosing a book of their own to take home and keep.

For many students, having the opportunity to choose their own book is an important part of the experience. It gives young readers the freedom to discover stories and topics that interest them while adding a new book to their home libraries.

Literacy Locker Rooms use the excitement surrounding the Jaguars to create positive, memorable experiences around books and reading for students across our community. READ USA is proud to support the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation in expanding book access and helping put new books directly into the hands of young readers.

This week’s event was made possible through the support of JEA, whose sponsorship helped bring the Literacy Locker Room experience to Highlands Elementary.

Thank you to the Jacksonville Jaguars Foundation and JEA for investing in young readers and helping make literacy something students can celebrate!

#FastFacts Wednesday

A new month means new #FastFacts!

October brings opportunities to learn more about issues that directly impact children, families and classrooms. This week, we’re recognizing National Bullying Prevention Month and Dyslexia Awareness Month.

#FastFacts: National Bullying Prevention Month

National Bullying Prevention Month is recognized throughout October and encourages communities to work together to prevent childhood bullying and promote kindness, acceptance and inclusion.
PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center founded the campaign in 2006. It began as a week-long event before expanding to a month-long campaign in 2010.
About 1 in 5 students report being bullied, according to data highlighted by PACER.
Unity Day is October 21, 2026! Students, schools and communities are encouraged to wear orange to send a visible message of kindness, acceptance and inclusion.

Creating safe and supportive environments helps children feel like they belong and are ready to learn. Families, educators, students and community members can all play a role in encouraging kindness and helping prevent bullying.

Want to learn more about National Bullying Prevention Month? Read more from PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center.

#FastFacts: Dyslexia Awareness Month

October is also recognized as Dyslexia Awareness Month, an opportunity to increase understanding of dyslexia and the experiences of individuals with dyslexia.
The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties in word reading and/or spelling involving accuracy, speed or both.
Dyslexia occurs along a continuum of severity, meaning it can look different from one person to another.
Identification and targeted instruction are important at any age, but language and literacy support before and during the early years of education can be particularly effective.

Learning more about dyslexia helps us better understand that children may experience different challenges as they learn to read. With appropriate identification, instruction and support, we can help ensure young readers have opportunities to continue developing their literacy skills.

Want to learn more about dyslexia? Explore resources from the International Dyslexia Association.

Whether we’re learning how to create safer, more inclusive environments or deepening our understanding of how children learn to read, awareness helps us become better supporters of the young people in our lives.

That’s what #FastFacts is all about!

Children’s Book: Waiting for the Biblioburro written by Monica Brown

The Waiting for the Biblioburro written by Monica Brown is a story of courage and hope and the heart of a young girl named Ana who had a love for learning and reading books. Ana lived in a remote village in Columbia where the access to books were non-existent. Ana owned only one book which was given to her by her teacher who left the village.

This story is inspired by a real heroic librarian who traveled to villages with books on two burros. The children were able to select books and keep them until the biblioburro returned to the village. Ana was so happy about the traveling biblioburro that she decided to write a book about the traveling librarian and his burros.

When the biblioburro returned to the village, Ana presented him with the book, and he added the book to the library collection for children in the local villages to read. The traveling librarian is celebrated for the triumphs and challenges that he endured to get the books in the hands of the children that lived in the remote villages.

The pictures in Waiting for the biblioburro vividly describe the content and the culture of the story. John Parra’s Latino heritage inspired him to illustrate an authentic picture book which depicts his values, customs, and beliefs. The brilliant illustrations provide clarity and truth to the story.

Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Lead Content Specialist

Parent Education Corner: How to Grow a Reader – Toddlers

It’s hard to overestimate how important reading is to a toddler’s intellectual, social and emotional development. When you read with toddlers, they take it all in: vocabulary and language structure, numbers and math concepts, colors, shapes, animals, opposites and all kinds of useful information about how the world works. What’s more, when you read out loud, your toddler connects books with the familiar sound of your voice — and the physical closeness that reading together brings. You are helping build a positive association with books that will last a lifetime.

Keep in mind:

Reading happens throughout the day. Nightly bedtime reading is an important routine for parents of toddlers. There’s no better way to get your little one to relax before bed. Make sure bedtime reading is soothing and not rushed and choose some of the many books that end with a peaceful going to bed scene (e.g., Goodnight Moon, Llama Llama Red Pajama). But also, read with your toddler during the day as well. Offering to read books with toddlers is one of the best ways to get them to slow down and focus. Sit, close, and enjoy these moments of connection while the sun is still shining.
Respect your child’s preferences. Your toddler is beginning to develop their own tastes and opinions. Your child may not enjoy all the books you enjoyed as a child. You may not be all that excited about talking trucks, fairies and unicorns, but your child might be. Encourage your child to express what they like about their books and find more books like those.
Enjoy reading together. The more you can make reading mutually enjoyable, the more it will be associated with pleasure and reward. If your child doesn’t like your silly talking animal voice, don’t use it. Remember it’s your child’s story time, too. To help your child be more involved in reading together, let them turn the pages, to control the pace.
It’s O.K. to interrupt. Don’t get so caught up in your own reading that you ignore your child’s comments and questions. Interruptions show that your child is engaged. Try it: If you find yourself saying, “Just let me finish this page,” stop and ask your toddler to repeat the question. If children don’t seem engaged by the words, ask what they see in the pictures. Point at things and invite them to explain or narrate the action.
Choose diverse books. All children need to see themselves reflected in the picture books around them. If your child is a member of a racial or ethnic minority, seek out books that feature children who look similar to yours. All children need to encounter books that present the variety of cultural traditions and family structures that coexist in our communities. Exposing children to diversity in books will prepare them for life in a diverse world.

From: How to Raise a Reader “nytimes.com/guides/books/how-to-raise-a-reader”

By Pamela Paul and Maria Russo

Submitted by Kathi Hart, READ USA Lead Content Specialist

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