Citizens sought to help group boost childhood literacy

Allen McCannon is not only an assistant superintendent of Madison County Schools, he’s also a dad, a mentor and community leader. And it’s his unique perspective into the lives of children that led him to spearhead efforts to form a new group to work on behalf of children.

McCannon hopes that a non-profit entity can be formed to take the lead in working to increase literacy in young children. He organized a first meeting recently between Rotary Club members who have launched a literacy program called the Ferst Foundation, educators and the public to discuss such a group.

“Our lives are so intertwined with education and we just have too many children not completing a high school education,” McCannon said. “Birth to third grade is a critical time (in children’s lives) to turn this around.”

Jerry Coutant, who along with former Ila Elementary School principal Carol Douglas, spearheaded the Ferst Foundation, a program that provides books to children from birth to kindergarten, also spoke to the group.

Coutant said he got involved with literacy by reading to children at Ila Elementary School a decade ago. That was followed by the dictionary program and then the Ferst Foundation, which has grown to provide a book a month to 696 pre-school age children in the county.

“This has grown beyond Rotary,” Coutant said. “This needs to involve the whole community – that’s why we hope to form a non-profit foundation to spearhead this and more literacy projects.”

“What an opportunity we have ahead of us and we need your help,” Coutant said, adding that Rotary will continue to provide support.

During this first meeting, an advisory council of six members was formed, which will serve to nominate a board of directors – the first step in becoming a non-profit entity. McCannon, Coutant and others hope that once the foundation achieves non-profit status, they will be able to apply for more and larger grants and other funding.

“The school system will work in a concerted effort with this group, but it (the foundation) can’t be the school system in disguise – it must be independent,” McCannon said. “This group needs to be made up of concerned people who simply want to make a difference in the lives of our citizens.”

McCannon added. “We need to work to find some people who will spend some time working on literacy – and we need a little bit of a vision.”

Rotary Club member Will Mauldin, who also works with the Ferst Foundation, said the group especially needs to work to bring in business owners in the county, who have a vested interest in education.

“They need to be on board; we need to personally invite them to the next meeting,” Mauldin said. “We need to ask them ‘what do you want your county to look like 12 years from now?’… Reading is absolutely core to our future.”