Growing up on Long Island, there was always a school library in the building I was attending that year. The bookshelves were flooded with stories and appeared to go on for miles, a nice woman waiting by the door to guide me through them without fail. The front of these rooms would have an inviting carpet and a giant rocking chair where that friendly teacher read us a picture book once a week. Afterward, my classmates and I took turns playing hide-and-seek behind the displays of colorful titles, one of which we got to bring home over the weekend. I never realized how fortunate I was to have these memories in these spaces until I began my fellowship with Start Lighthouse.

Childhood illiteracy in the Bronx remains a pressing concern, with 70% of students lacking reading proficiency. The borough grapples with a high poverty rate, limiting access to quality education and resources for many families.

Childhood illiteracy in the Bronx remains a pressing concern, with 70% of students lacking reading proficiency. The borough grapples with a high poverty rate, limiting access to quality education and resources for many families. This lack of access hinders a child's ability to develop essential reading and writing skills from an early age.

Such socio-economic burdens are not only present at home, but in students’ schools as well. With inadequate funding, overcrowded classrooms, and a shortage of skilled teachers, Bronx school administrators can just barely keep up with general education operations, let alone foster an inviting school library.

With little-to-no access to books and reading materials at home or in schools, children in the Bronx are disproportionately disenfranchised from the right to a proper education.

Start Lighthouse aims to remedy this systemic issue through a three-pronged approach;

Rehabilitating abandoned and defunct libraries to establish Literacy Hubs to provide daily literacy programming (during school hours and after school)
Delivering in-person interactive workshops led by nationally recognized and award-winning BIPOC authors and illustrators
Building robust home libraries with brand-new multicultural books'

Providing full-time site coordinators and an original curriculum, Start Lighthouse provides Pre-K-8 students a weekly “Library” period they’ve never had.

Providing full-time site coordinators and an original curriculum, Start Lighthouse provides Pre-K-8 students a weekly “Library” period they’ve never had. We bridge the gap between accessibility at school and at home by hosting a “Book Shopping” program 3 times a year. Students are able to take home 9 brand new books annually at no cost, developing a true sense of ownership and a reading culture within their households.

School libraries play a crucial role in education by fostering a love for reading, enhancing academic performance, and promoting information literacy. They provide access to a diverse range of books, resources, and digital materials, encouraging lifelong learning and critical thinking skills. By nurturing a reading culture, these spaces empower students to become well-rounded, informed, and engaged individuals ready to thrive in the modern world.

Elementary picture books are often overlooked as having significant literary merit. The truth is that these stories are arguably the most important. Your first look into a world beyond your hometown, libraries are airports. The books inside are passports to a new adventure, waiting to expand your horizons and grow your mind.