Riverside Theatre was charged with a sense of urgent purpose as the Learning Alliance hosted a premiere screening of “The Moonshot Story,” a director’s cut of a larger documentary, “The Moonshot Series.” The film, shown before a full house, showcased the efforts behind propelling the Indian River County School District’s ranking from 38th to fifth in the state overall and to second in third-grade reading.
The Moonshot Series was produced by the Children’s Literacy Project, a nationwide media company. The 10-part documentary chronicles the county’s grassroots literacy movement, which began in 2010 with a goal of having 90 percent of children reading on grade level by the end of third grade.
The series documents the district’s transformation, highlighting how the community united around the Moonshot Goal.
The evening also featured a diverse panel of business professionals, educators and philanthropists who discussed how this community-wide focus is shifting the national conversation on public education.
Superintendent David Moore opened the discussion by reframing the goal of public education from “hope,” a passive objective, to a decisive one of impact, purpose and power.
“This community’s unwavering expectation on what we can collectively do for our children is that secret sauce. It wasn’t a coincidence that 350 folks from across America came flocking to Indian River County last week to figure out what that secret sauce is,” said Moore.
The district’s success, he said, stems from moving past “pointing at problems” to instead solving them by “walking side-by-side” with partners such as the Learning Alliance.
TLA board chair David McDonald, an oil and gas executive and national security expert, noted that the literacy crisis directly affects national security, the economy and cognitive defense. He said only 25 percent of American high school seniors are eligible to enlist in the military due to lack of physical fitness and low aptitude test scores. Additionally, without critical reading skills, citizens are more vulnerable to misinformation and propaganda.
Ray Oglethorpe, former AOL president and TLA co-founder, said he was stunned 16 years ago when he learned that children who can’t read by the end of third grade have a less than 20 percent chance of ever catching up. At the time, two-thirds of local third graders were in that category.
David Dyer, school board member and former CEO of multibillion-dollar companies, called the country’s literacy rate a “national disgrace,” noting that some states use third-grade literacy data to project future prison needs. He added that while Florida overall faces challenges, this county has thrived through the private-public partnership.
“The Learning Alliance supports 27 positions directly in the school district in terms of reading coaches for teachers and in terms of reading interventionists for kids,” said Dyer.
Wanda Lincoln, a lifetime educator and philanthropist, reminded the audience that while the results look like “magic” on film, they are the product of grueling, intentional work by teachers.
She called for a renewed community-wide respect for the profession, particularly for those teaching the youngest learners.
“It’s not magic,” Lincoln said. “It’s really the teachers learning, helping the children to learn.”
She implored everyone to support the efforts of the Learning Alliance and others working alongside them, such as Childcare Resources, Youth Guidance and the Boys and Girls Clubs.
“Spread the word, support education, invest in education early and often,” said Lincoln in a call to action.
More than a local success story, Indian River County and its community-wide Moonshot goal is well on its way to becoming the literacy capital of the nation.
“The Moonshot Series” is available to the public, serving as a roadmap for other districts looking to replicate our success story.
For more information visit TheLearningAlliance.org.
Photos by Amy Saville
