MAYOR MICHELLE WU LAUNCHES BOSTON READS LITERACY CAMPAIGN ON FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

MAYOR MICHELLE WU LAUNCHES BOSTON READS LITERACY CAMPAIGN ON FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN Citywide campaign aims to improve literacy and create a culture of reading across Boston

BOSTON - Monday, September 8, 2025 - Mayor Michelle Wu today launched Boston Reads, a citywide literacy initiative to support Boston children and their families. Boston Reads expands on the legacy of Mayor Menino’s ReadBoston initiative and advances Mayor Wu’s vision of making Boston the most family-friendly city in America. The Mayor made the announcement alongside Superintendent Mary Skipper at the Ellison Parks Early Education School, where they read to kindergarteners on their first day of school.  “Literacy is the foundation for lifelong learning, so we’re working to ensure our youngest learners are reading at home, in Boston Pre-K, and all around the city,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “Our new citywide literacy campaign, Boston Reads, is the next step in our work to close early education gaps and involve every family in boosting literacy rates.”  “At BPS, we are committed to providing every student with a high-quality education that prepares them for success, with early learning opportunities as a central part of that foundation,” said Superintendent Mary Skipper. “Through Boston Reads, we are partnering with families, educators, and city and community partners to create an environment where every child has the opportunity to develop strong literacy skills. By broadening access to resources, engaging families in meaningful ways and building on the progress already made, we are equipping our students with the tools they need to thrive in school and beyond.” Boston Reads is a citywide literacy effort beginning in early childhood. Led by the Mayor’s Office of Early Childhood, Boston Reads brings together Boston Public Schools (BPS), Boston Public Library, Boston Public Health Commission, and community partners to streamline family access to existing literacy resources and programs and launch a number of new literacy opportunities to deliver a more cohesive literacy experience across the city. With this launch, the City of Boston is joined by more than 30 community based organizations, colleges and other civic institutions that work with families and young children on early childhood development and literacy.  Reading is a life skill that opens doors to confidence, opportunity and continuous learning. Boston Reads aims to cultivate a lasting culture of reading in any language, where literacy is embedded in everyday life, supported by community partners and celebrated across neighborhoods. Through new, collaborative programs, parent engagement efforts, and cross-sector initiatives, Boston Reads empowers every Boston family to help their children grow as confident, joyful readers. The citywide campaign includes: Boston Reads Days Modeled on ReadBoston affinity months, Boston Reads Days engage volunteers to serve as guest readers in early childhood classrooms across Boston. Boston Reads Days will kick off on September 25, with a guest reader reading a book from the Focus curriculum in every BPS kindergarten, first and second grade classroom. In subsequent months, Boston Read Days will provide opportunities for guest readers to share the joy of reading books and stories from their own cultures and heritage with our students. Story Stops Story Stops are an exciting new way for children and families to experience reading all around the City of Boston. These interactive, place-based literacy installations pair engaging stories with Boston landmarks, activities, and neighborhoods, turning the city into a storybook! Each Story Stop features a short, themed story that is specifically written with text that supports early readers as they build foundational reading skills. Whether it’s a tale set in Moakley Park, Boston Public Market, or in one of the city’s many gardens, each story connects literacy to the lived experiences of Boston’s children and their communities. Story Starters To engage families and young children in early literacy, we are rolling out a media campaign across the city. These Story Starters connect families to Boston Reads while also serving as prompts for story telling while walking or commuting in Boston. The prompts - “Where do lost stuffies go?,” “Do dragons live in cities?,” and “Do seahorses gallop?” - foster imagination and storytelling, key pillars of early literacy. “As a city we want to emphasize the importance of story telling and reading to young children in any language,” said Kristin McSwain, Senior Advisor for Early Childhood and Director of the Mayor's Office of Early Childhood. “We also want to make sure that we are providing engaging and fun content so that reading is a joyful experience.”  Boston Reads will support the district's work by making access to early literacy content and the Focus curriculum available citywide so that emerging readers will continue growing these skills outside of the classroom. Boston Public Schools' early literacy measures show that kindergarten students and first and second graders are mastering the foundational skills that will help them learn to read, develop language skills, and develop a lifelong love of reading. Throughout the City, families will have opportunities to engage with the Focus curriculum early—before experiencing it in the classroom and throughout their year in Boston Public Schools. Over the last three years, BPS has overhauled its literacy instruction through its Equitable Literacy strategy, beginning School Year 2025-26 with 100% of schools using district-approved High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) across all major content areas for the first time. HQIM includes literacy curricula that meets rigorous standards, aligns with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework standards, and is culturally and linguistically diverse. In partnership with the Boston Teachers Union, the district has also redesigned its professional development for educators to deepen their skills to make the content accessible to all learners. The district strengthened its accountability structure through its regional model, deploying instructional coaches and other resources to monitor student progress through regular classroom observations and data reviews.  As a result of these changes to literacy instruction, the district’s accountability rankings are showing clear signs of improvement. Last year, BPS exited the bottom 10% of districts statewide, and of the district’s 39 transformation schools, 22 schools improved their accountability percentile with an average improvement of 3.8 percentage points.  Improvement in student literacy outcomes is particularly notable in schools that are implementing the Equitable Literacy strategy with fidelity, with data-driven professional learning, instructional coaching, and review cycles. For example, the Mather Elementary School has seen a 10 percentage point increase in its state accountability rating since pre-Covid, and the Josiah Quincy Elementary School has seen a 21 percentage point increase. Boston Reads aims to support this improvement by providing parents and other caregivers with access to rich engaging texts and stories throughout the city.  Boston has always been a leader in learning and innovation, we want to build on that tradition by becoming a city where every child grows up a reader. Together, we can ensure that Boston continues its path to becoming a literacy-rich city where every child shares a love for reading. To learn more about how you can participate, please visit www.boston.gov/boston-reads.