Our library’s Summer Reading & School Readiness initiative for children and teens runs annually from early June through early August, improving childhood literacy outcomes.
The free program is conducted at each of our six library branches and through community partners. Children receive a high-quality book of their choice to build their own personal libraries at the start of the program and are incentivized to keep reading and logging time throughout the summer.
Our primary goal is to engage local youth in interest-driven, open-ended growth mindset programming that promotes literacy and creates positive experiences. Partnerships with Des Moines Public Schools, daycares and other groups help us reach kids where they are. The summer reading and school readiness program involves more than 100 outreach visits, reaching thousands of children outside of the library at community summer care sites and beyond. These classes/sites incorporate reading time and literacy-based activities into their summer learning and earn a prize pack of books and related hands-on STEM or art materials to reward their efforts.
These partnerships are targeted to reach kids at summer care sites and at schools with low reading proficiency scores. In this way, we can support educators and care providers with library learning materials. Also, the program provides incentives for their students to actively incorporate reading into their summer schedules and without requiring that they come to the library.
This initiative is supported through a combination of grant funding and individual giving.