Teach a Kid to Read Podcast

Today, TKR talks with Karen Vogelsang, the Executive Director of a formidable literacy organization outside of Memphis in Shelby County. Her enthusiasm for children is only outdone by her keen mind for navigating and succeeding in recruiting an army of reading mentors. Karen is the Executive Director of ARISE2Read. Karen taught elementary school. She holds a Masters in Elementary Education and earned National Board Certification. Karen is the 2015 Tennessee Teacher of the Year. She received fellowships at Harvard’s Project Zero, Gates Foundation, Teach Plus, and Hope Street Group.

Dr Beegle was raised in poverty and illiterate until adulthood. Overcoming staggering odds, and the assistance of some unexpected neighbors, Donna not only escaped the cycles of generational poverty, but has since risen to become one of the world's most sought after authorities on poverty. In today's episode Tony asks Donna the connection between poverty and failing in school, specifically the layered difficulty poor children carry everyday that keeps them from the life-transforming gift of reading.

Some of the best literacy stories are about everyday citizen-neighbors who learn the power of reading and want to help in some small and tangible way. Today, Tony talks to Lucy Martin about her journey to become a reading buddy near her home in Southern California.

On this week's podcast, Tony is joined by Anna Paul, the Director of a less than two year old literacy program based in Clark County, Washington called, Read Northwest. Their slogan is, "Word by Word, Life by Life."

Our first featured national leader, activist and thinker in the movement to transform literacy in America is Mary Cantwell, the co-founder of EnrichedNYC and OnWords. Mary is based in New York and her enthusiasm and effervescence is matched only by her clarity and thoughtfulness. Please join us for this stimulating conversation. Learn more at enrichednyc.com

Roy Chang, a former pastor and lifelong education activist, looked across the greater Seattle area and saw too many schools with struggling students.  His solution:  start School Connect Washington.  Listen to hear his fight for teach every kid to read.

In Jeff Johnson’s small community there was no established “reader buddy” program. Listen to today’s short conversation as Tony and Jeff discuss this fun, fumbling and ultimately successful story of one man’s desire to fight illiteracy in his community.

Jeff Martin, Executive Producer of new documentary, SENTENCED, discusses the crisis of illiteracy in America and his hopes regarding his newest film.