082626 ABCsOfIRC JoshuaKodis 006 — PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

A dedicated crew of Moonshot Community Action Network leaders and educators rolled up their sleeves to promote the importance of early literacy during an ABCs of Indian River County poster-hanging celebration at the FPL Bright Spot Playland at the Jimmy Graves Sports and Community Complex, across from Vero Beach High School.

“Every story that I heard was about what this place used to be in the sense of community,” noted School Superintendent David Moore.

He commented that it had been considered a gathering spot in Indian River County some 25 years ago, which made it the ideal location to install the ABC banners. Others will eventually be installed at locations throughout the community.

Inspired by a Philadelphia initiative, the banners feature an alphabet of words with a local flavor, such as “H” for hibiscus. The final words were chosen after MCAN members generated various options, educators vetted the phonetics, and community members cast their votes across Facebook and at community events.

The banners also contain QR codes which parents can use to link to play-based, early-learning literacy activities and “language nutrition” exercises, all of which are designed to naturally build critical oral language skills.

“Parents are a child’s first and most important teachers,” said Barbara Hammond, CEO and co-founder of the Learning Alliance, referencing the importance of reading, talking, playing and singing with young children to prepare their brains for reading.

The Learning Alliance serves as the backbone organization for MCAN, providing the strategic and administrative support that enable countywide collaborations such as this one by bringing together local leaders, nonprofits and businesses.

The project reinforces the community-wide Moonshot Goal of having 90 percent of children reading at grade level before the end of third grade. Hammond noted that currently, only 45 percent of incoming students are fully ready.

She stressed that early learning relies on building strong oral language skills for educational success.

“From research, we now know the most important skill that keeps children ready and reading is the strength of their oral language skills,” said Hammond.

“This community, through the Moon-shot Community Action Network, has stepped up to try to build a strong ecosystem for parents. Grounded in the science of reading, the ABCs of IRC helps young children build foundational literacy skills by learning letter names and sounds, while also strengthening vocabulary and comprehension through conversations with adults about each locally inspired word,” she added.

“You can’t grow outcomes without a solid, strong, innovative school system. The secret sauce is the community,” said Moore in agreement, remarking upon the strong relationship between the school district and its community partners.

Moore also noted that building a deeper understanding of vocabulary is a key ingredient for literacy success.

After selecting banners with letters that held special meaning to them, attendees hung them along the fence surrounding the playground. The site will serve as a visual reminder that through community collaboration, everyone can take part in paving a literate path for our youngest learners.

For more information, please visit TheLearningAlliance.org.