Literacy is the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s key focus with its new strategic plan, and the district is reaching out to the community for help achieving its goals.
“If we want to change the quality of life, we need to change literacy rates,” said Superintendent Dr. Lynn Moody
Moody said the collaborative initiative started with the Education Coalition — regular meetings of the county’s educational leaders.
The coalition includes Moody, Catawba College President Brien Lewis, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College president Dr. Carol Spalding, Livingstone College President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins and Hood Theological Seminary President Dr. Vergel Lattimore.
The group discussed how they could work together to impact education locally.
“We knew it had to be about literacy,” Moody said.
That’s when they began to reach out further, inviting experts and other interested parties in to brainstorm.
The Literacy Summit is the first event in a collaborative plan to raise literacy rates in Rowan County.
The Chamber of Commerce is hosting the summit — its third community forum event.
Education has been a major focus of the Chamber of Commerce since their first community forum, when the business community expressed it was its No. 1 priority.
Moody said it’s how “we can all partner together to do something meaningful in the community.”
Scheduled for Sept. 26, the summit will explore why literacy is so important, areas local businesses and organizations can help and how community-school collaboration has been implemented elsewhere.
Moody said she will present data, including heat maps “that specifically show where are target areas we need to focus on.”
“It’s not just in certain sections of town — it’s all over Rowan County we have problems with literacy,” said Chamber of Commerce President Elaine Spalding.
Moody will also ask 100 businesses and religious entities to start homework centers where students can go after school for Internet access and homework help.
Rev. Ryan McJimpsey and Rev. Isaac McKissick will share how they created homework centers at churches improve literacy rates in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Elain Spalding and Dr. Carol Spalding will speak about why businesses should care and the issue of adult literacy, respectively.
But the summit isn’t just about a crowd of community members listening to speakers — 40 minutes are set aside for attendees to discuss how the community can make a difference.
Elaine Spalding said the event is “completely free and open to the public.”
She encourages business, education and faith-based leaders to attend, as well as “people who just care about this community.”
Currently 90 people have signed up to attend and there are 300 spaces.
The Literacy Summit is Sept. 26 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Albert J.D. Aymer Center at Hood Theological Seminary.
Interested individuals are encouraged to RSVP by calling the Chamber of Commerce at 704-633-4221 or at https://2014literacysummit.eventbrite.com.