Community partners with Archway for literacy campaign

Georgia is facing a big problem when it comes to literacy.

According to data from the 2024 state Milestone tests, more than 60 percent of Georgia third graders are not reading at the appropriate level by third grade. And the problem only gets worse from there. The Georgia Council on Literacy says 69 percent of the state’s eighth graders are not proficient in reading and estimates that about 1 million Georgia adults are low-literate, costing the state approximately $1.2 billion annually in lost tax revenue and social services and incarceration costs. 

The solution to this widespread problem starts at home before kids reach school age.

“We know that, even at the state level, 62 percent of my kids are not reading on grade level by third grade,” said Ronda Walker, a district literacy coach for the Laurens County School System. “We know that it starts at home, in a language-rich environment. Yes, it is the school system’s job to teach a child to read, but they need to have language and literacy before they go into school. Today there so many distractions. You have parents working, our phones and other digital devices, and a lot of time the unintended consequence is that language is not happening in the home. Kids need to hear books.” 

To help raise awareness on the importance of early childhood literacy, community leaders have utilized the University of Georgia Archway Partnership to create a Birth-to-Five Literacy Campaign for Dublin-Laurens County. Local Archway professional Valerie Dixon paired the county schools and Dublin-Laurens County Chamber Community Foundation, which spearheaded the initiative, with a class of students at the university’s Grady School of Journalism to create a public relations campaign. 

“A lot of time there is a need that arises in a community, and then there is also a need on campus,” Dixon said. “There is a PR class that, every fall, takes on a real-world campaign, so it was a natural match to work together.” 

Several programs and initiatives already exist to promote literacy. The Ferst Readers program sends a book each month to children under five years old. Parents can sign up for the free program at Fairview Park Hospital when their child is born. The area has also received several grants to fund the installation of little libraries and the placing of books in locations where people gather, such as barber shops and laundry mats. 

The Birth-To-Five campaign, created by 12 students under the instruction of USA professor Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, aims to raise awareness on the importance of early literacy and promote resources to parents and caregivers. The work includes a brand and logo for the campaign, a website, public service announcements for distribution through social media and traditional means and a collection of resource materials. The campaign’s rollout will be planned and implemented by the Chamber Foundation board, which is acting as an Archway workgroup. Walker, who sits on the board, said they will meet again in January.

“What they gave us is a great platform to jump off of,” she said. “We want to equip parents with the knowledge that they are of importance to what happens in a child’s brain from birth to 5 – and that impact will last a lifetime.”