September marks National Literacy Month and the time when students are settling into a new school year. It’s also the perfect time for parents and caregivers to inspire young readers, especially before third grade. Why? If a child knows eight nursery rhymes by heart by the time they are four years old, they are usually among the best readers and spellers in their class by the time they are eight, wrote Mem Fox in her book, “Reading Magic.”

The stakes are high. An Annie E. Casey Foundation study of nearly 4,000 students found that children who did not read proficiently by third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than their peers who could. Among Black and Hispanic students, poverty combined with poor third-grade reading skills made the dropout rate eight times greater. Today, only 33% of students in America are proficient readers, and 80% of those not reading on grade level come from low-income families.

Jacob Aronin is director of education at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. (courtesy, Jacob Aronin, photography by David I. Muir)

Closer to home, the Florida Chamber of Commerce reports that just 57% of Broward County third graders are reading at grade level, according to the Florida Standards Assessment. The Education Recovery Scorecard shows Florida ranked 45th among states in reading recovery between 2019 and 2024 and no district has yet returned to pre-2019 levels. These statistics should set off alarms for all of us.

Heed the Dr. Seuss quote, “The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” It’s imperative that we fund programs that reach our earliest learners so together we can make the difference in getting them on the path to success in life. The arts can play a significant role here, especially in this era in which children are exposed to video and video content much earlier or more frequently. When they learn to read, they’ll read to learn.

It’s for these reasons that the Broward Center for the Performing Arts embarked on a path to increase early literacy and childhood learning through Reading Readiness Through the Theater, the umbrella program to address early childhood learning in partnership with Broward County Public Schools. Part of the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading to help increase literacy percentages and ensure better outcomes, Reading Readiness was conceived to assist the school district in engaging parents in the Head Start Program, a federally funded preschool program designed to promote kindergarten readiness for families that meet income eligibility requirements.

Reading Readiness Through the Theater, designed by Broward County schools and the Broward Center, was launched during the 2004-2005 academic year and served more than 200 students and their families in year one. By the following year, the program was serving nearly 500 students and their families. The program now includes both Head Start and VPK programs across the Broward County School System, which this year came to life in 60 classrooms and reached nearly 1,300 students, thanks to additional support and greater interest. Now in its 20th year, more than 11,000 students have benefited from the program.

This program is transformational, helping students, even before they start kindergarten, become successful readers through engagement with the arts. It has demonstrated benefits to help students succeed. Teachers, families, communities of funders, businesses and more have an important role to play, and the Broward Center is again building on its strength in using the arts to teach.

Involvement with the arts can help spark an interest in reading among our youngest learners with intentional programs like this one. Supporting programs like this is not optional; it’s one of the most important investments we can make in our community’s future.

Jacob Aronin is director of education at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2025/09/14/oh-the-places-theyll-go-when-our-children-can-read-opinion/