Virginia Beach recognized by national reading campaign

Kevin Cheek
·2 min read

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Virginia Beach has been recognized with Pacesetter Honors for its 2022-23 work by the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR).

The CGLR aims to ensure that children from low-income families do well in school and graduate prepared for college, a career and active citizenship. It does this by promoting the early school success as a building block for future success.

This year’s Pacesetter Honors theme is “Moving the Needle in Impact Areas.”

“It indeed is time to move the needle in impact areas and these Pacesetter Communities demonstrate how mobilized communities are succeeding,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of CGLR. “Let us all learn and grow from recognizing and understanding what they’ve accomplished. We applaud the civic leaders and local funders whose time, talent, energy and imagination have fueled progress in these Pacesetter Communities.”

The city was acknowledged for the following initiatives:

  • Virginia Beach Talks: As a result of a pandemic-related decline in kindergarten students’ school readiness, Virginia Beach GrowSmart launched Virginia Beach Talks, an innovative initiative which focuses on strengthening early learning support for families and early educators interacting with young children.

  • Libraries in Laundromats: Virginia Beach Public Libraries partnered with the Laundry Cares Foundation to expand library and literacy services into the community by meeting residents “where they are” through the Libraries in Laundromats program.

  • StoryWalks: Virginia Beach Public Libraries also created 15 different StoryWalks to display throughout the city at libraries, schools, parks, shopping malls, festivals and community events. StoryWalks encourage reading and movement as they share a picture book through a series of engaging signs along a path.

Virginia Beach’s grade-level reading campaign is led by Virginia Beach GrowSmart along with Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Public Libraries, Department of Health, Parks and Recreation and multiple collaborative partners across the community.

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