Kindergarten readiness is a major county-wide problem: In Stark County, 40% of children were not on track at the start of kindergarten. We saw a need and created an opportunity for several community organizations to work together to ensure families and schools give young students the best possible chance at academic success. As a partner in the SPARK program, we can make a larger impact on early literacy in our community and bring the library into the homes of families who may not already be library-users.

The library has evolved in its participation in this program over the last 15 years. We started as a space for home visits, recruiting and group lessons. Today we fund eight parent partners who not only provide lessons but also share information about the library and other community organizations to over 300 preschoolers and their families. SPARK also reaches the community at large through recruiting and outreach events and focuses on the whole child through social emotional, academic, health and parenting topics.

SPARK has added 300 additional spots in four school districts. Parent partners act as the connector between the school and the community sharing resources beyond just books. Since 2004, SPARK children taking the state-mandated kindergarten entry test have significantly outperformed their non-SPARK peers. Before beginning SPARK, 52.8% of children scored at or above average on the Get Ready to Read test. After SPARK, that number increased to 77.8%. We hope to expand into several more school districts.