There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education of millions of children. According to the BBC, U.S. literacy rates dropped significantly in 2020, a trend that educators have been working hard to reverse.
Despite efforts to continue classes through remote learning, school closures disproportionately affected the country’s most vulnerable students, including students in low-income families and non-English-speaking households.
In Colorado, the issue is especially stark. A 2025 report found that over half of children in grades three through eight are reading below proficient levels. Alfred Tatum, Ph.D., is an executive director at Colorado’s Literacy Research Center and Clinic, which opened its doors to Aurora locals in February. He said that their mission is twofold.
“The goal of this research center is to do what we can to ensure that fewer and fewer students are being underserved by literacy instruction in this state,” Tatum told MSU Denver RED. “While we’re conducting statewide research, we will also provide direct clinical services to students and adults who may want to identify if they have a reading difficulty.”
“Having no guidance is really stressful,” said Christina Smith, whose 9-year-old daughter is currently being tested for dyslexia. “To have something like this program, where they are experts in that space and want to help, providing resources is really critical and honestly a huge relief.”
In Sonoma County, California, teachers and school districts are also mobilizing. The Sonoma County Office of Education recently launched a regional campaign to improve literacy by third grade, which has long been considered a critical milestone in child development.
The fellowship attracts grade school teachers from across 40 counties to share what works — and what doesn’t. The biggest takeaways emphasized day-to-day phonics learning and instilling confidence in their students.
Natascha Simpson, a second-grade teacher at Bellevue Elementary School, said that she’s seen the impact of the fellowship program firsthand.
“I had a boy who started second grade as a non-reader … at the end of the school year he was reading at the end of a first-grade level,” Simpson told The Press Democrat. “It’s unlocked something for him. [The fellowship speakers] talked about confidence, and that’s there for him now.”
In Canton, Ohio, the Black Assistance Foundation is bridging educational and nutritional gaps with the “Breakfast & Books” program, which provides a quiet space for students in grades three through eight to do their homework on Sunday mornings.
And the allure of a free, hot breakfast buffet doesn’t hurt either.
"[It’s about] children being able to come someplace positive and expand on their reading skills, and also being able to feed them as well during that time," Chanda Robinson, who serves on the foundation's board, told The Canton Repository.
Across the country, teachers are joining forces with universities, nonprofits, and families to create what researchers call a “literacy ecosystem.” This community-based approach prioritizes early intervention, one-on-one coaching, and ensuring that books are freely available in students’ lives.
In Worcester, Massachusetts, Beth Orsini knew she could help with the latter. According to NBC News, several of the town’s public elementary schools don’t have libraries at all.
So Orsini, who runs the indie bookstore Hygge House Books, teamed up with Sandy Burgers of the Changemakers Rotary Club of Central Massachusetts to create free libraries throughout the city.
At first, they installed them on the sides of community fridges provided by Woo Fridge, a nonprofit combating food insecurity.
Then they recruited a network of volunteers to build a book nook inside Vernon Hill Elementary School. The new library — and its freshly donated books — inspired the staff to increase their reading goals for the year.
"If we work together … it can happen pretty quickly and pretty easily," said Orsini, who has more book nooks planned for the coming school year. "I think literacy is really one of the keys to success."
A version of this article originally appeared in the 2025 Education Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image via Lina Kivaka / Pexels
