Marietta City Schools Launching ‘Literacy And Justice For All’ To Help Young Readers

May 26th, 2021

Marietta City Schools is working to empower the next generation of readers through a new literacy initiative.

According to a press release from the district, “Literacy and Justice for All” is a new communitywide initiative aimed at making sure students are proficient readers by the completion of third grade.

Dr. Belinda Walters-Brazile discusses how Marietta City Schools is working to make sure students are proficient readers by the completion of third grade. (Courtesy photo)

“It’s a fundamental right for a student to be able to read,” said Dr. Belinda Walters-Brazile, deputy superintendent of Marietta City Schools.

Walters-Brazile, a guest on Wednesday’s edition of “Closer Look,” talked with show host Rose Scott about a $2.5 million grant distributed by United Way that will fund resources and training for the new program that will follow kids from birth through third grade.

“We were averaging around a third of our students in third grade reading below grade level,” said Walters-Brazile.

“It’s certainly been a focus for our district for a while, but with the access to this new grant that we are a part of, we were able to shed some light on some instrumental things that we need to improve literacy in our community, in our schools.”

To listen to the full conversation, click the audio player above.