CHESTER SPRINGSJunio 10, 2024 − State Senator Katie Muth (D-Chester/Montgomery/Berks) and the Chester County Library System hosted over 50 parents, educators, and librarians Jueves at the Henrietta Hankin Branch Library for a community event to highlight structured literacy initiatives and materials that will be available at libraries across Senate District 44.

The “Books for all Readers: Decodable Books & Literacy Initiatives at the Library” workshop focused on using decodable books to support skilled reading for all children and was presented by the national organization Teach My Kid to Read. Decodable books are simple books written for beginning readers that provide learners with the opportunity to use their developing segmenting and blending skills to read words and develop automaticity, which is the ability to recognize words quickly and effortlessly, leading to independent reading success.

“I have learned so much about the Science of Reading over the past 18 months – working not only with the Chester County Library System on this pilot program – but also with all of the school districts across my Senate District on a $3 million grant to implement evidence-based Science of Reading programming into our schools,” Muth said. “The community workshop was such a great event and provided valuable information to parents and educators across our region who attended. I am excited for the new decodable textbooks to be on the shelves at all libraries across SD44 soon.”

In Noviembre 2022, Senator Muth announced a $125,000 grant to establish a collection of decodable books in every public library across Senate District 44. The grant, funded through Pennsylvania’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act funds, also included funding to offer training and professional development on these collections for librarians and community members.

“Public libraries have always provided early literacy materials, and we are excited to offer decodable books as a new tool for helping readers,” Jenna Persick, Director of the Chester County Library, said. “We are happy to partner with Senator Muth on this literacy initiative.”

The community workshop was presented by Marion Waldman and Beth Bevars of Teach My Kid to Read. In 2019, Teach My Kid to Read initiated the first widespread programming to educate public librarians about the process of learning to read and how decodable books support skilled reading.

“The libraries in Senate District 44 are literacy leaders with the knowledge and resources to help all children become skilled readers using evidence-based resources aligned with the science of reading,” Marion Waldman, Executive Director of Teach My Kid to Read, added.

The event also featured a presentation by Simple Words Books owner Cigdem Knebel. 

Decodable books will soon be available at public libraries across Senator Muth’s 44th Senatorial District which includes parts of Chester, Montgomery, and Berks Counties.

For more information on the programming offered by Teach My Kid to Read, visit www.teachmykidtoread.org and for more information and a listing of upcoming events at the Chester County Library System, visit www.ccls.org.

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