If you walked into a Rome City Schools kindergarten classroom on Friday, October 31, you might have heard a few pressing questions floating through the air.
- “Why is that pumpkin blue?”
- “How did that tiny seed grow that big?”
- “Wait… what can Zara the Zebra do?”
Those are the kinds of mysteries only a good read-aloud can unravel, and thanks to a growing group of guest readers, every kindergarten class across all Rome City Schools elementary campuses got to experience a little bit of literary magic that day. It was part celebration of Halloween, part celebration of reading—and one hundred percent proof that stories still have the power to capture imaginations faster than a fall breeze across a playground.
Welcome to Read Across Rome, the district’s newest literacy movement designed to connect community, classrooms, and culture—one story at a time. Reading to students isn’t new. But Rome City Schools wants to make sure it becomes an everyday practice.
Through Read Across Rome, each month brings a new wave of guest readers to a new grade level. Kindergarten enjoyed their turn in October. First grade got the spotlight in November. Second grade gets it in December. And the goal behind all of it is refreshingly simple: show students that reading isn’t just a school activity — it’s a life activity.
On one October morning, guest readers walked into classrooms holding picture books that would soon come to life. And judging by the reactions, they delivered. Gasps. Giggles. Lots of wide eyes. And countless hands waving in the air with follow-up questions only five-year-olds could dream up. This spirit is at the heart of Rome City Schools’ broader initiative, Literacy Before Life for Life, a districtwide effort that aims to surround children with stories wherever they go. “Literacy Before Life for Life is more than a program; it is a movement,” Rome City Schools Superintendent Dr. Eric L. Holland says. “When students have guest readers come into the classroom, those readers ignite the students’ curiosity and passion for reading and learning.”
Students aren’t just listening, they’re also reading — a lot. The district set a goal for students to read more than eight million minutes this school year. With tracking sheets, rewarding milestones (starting with the now-famous red hat), and plenty of encouragement, students are well on their way to hitting that ambitious target.
But reading at school is only half of the equation. The district has its eyes on the entire community. Which brings us to another place where Rome’s literacy movement is picking up steam: your local barbershop, beauty salon, and business.
In an exciting twist on promoting community literacy, the district has been delivering bins filled with children’s books to local barbershops and beauty salons. The idea is simple.
When kids go to a barbershop or beauty salon with their parents, they can grab a book, flip through it, and even take it home and bring it back next visit.
It’s all part of the same Literacy Before Life for Life initiative, extending the message that reading belongs everywhere, not just in classrooms, libraries, or cozy corners at home.
The idea was inspired in part by a moment from Dr. Holland’s childhood. In a meeting with local shop owners, he shared how a lesson he learned in a barbershop changed his life. As a young boy, he noticed the barbershop owner reading something before cutting hair. That small action made a big impression. “My life changed at that barbershop. I realized that’s why the barber was so successful—because he read every day. I learned from that. I read something every single day,” Dr. Holland says. Now, a few decades later, he’s paying that lesson forward.
Over the last several weeks, Rome City Schools staff, including Dr. Holland himself, have been hand-delivering these bins to businesses across town. “All of these bins are going to have books for various levels of readers. We want children to be able to pick out a book that looks interesting and sit and read it,” Rome City Schools Early Learning Specialist Sabrina Teems says. “They can
take it home with them and bring it back the next time they come.” Every bin also includes a reading-minutes form for parents and guardians because every minute counts toward that districtwide eight-million-minute goal.
If you talk with anyone involved in literacy work at Rome City Schools, you’ll hear the same message repeated again and again: this is a community effort. Early learning centers in Rome are already active partners in literacy work, and inviting local businesses into the fold is the next natural step. The district sees these partnerships to surround children with opportunities to read, whether they’re at school, at home, or simply tagging along for a haircut.
“This is a community effort, and we want to bring everyone together in the community that we can,” Coretta Stewart, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for Rome City Schools, says. “It is never too early for students to start being critical thinkers. There is really an alarm at the gate right now with reading and literacy. It’s not just a Rome City issue or a state issue. It’s a national issue, and we’re trying to bring the community together to help.”
That alarm at the gate is real. Literacy impacts graduation rates, future careers, civic participation, and every piece of a child’s development. It affects lifelong outcomes. And the district is determined to ensure that every child in Rome has the tools, support, and encouragement to become a confident reader. That’s why programs like Read Across Rome and Books in Barbershops and Beauty Salons work in tandem. One brings the community into classrooms. The other sends the classroom out into the community. Together, they form a full circle of literacy support.
Guest readers do more than read a story. They show children what reading looks like in real life. When adults sit down with a picture book and read with enthusiasm, it creates a powerful moment for students. For some students, it’s a moment of inspiration. For others, it’s reassurance. For many, it’s a spark. “You just might say something at your barbershop or beauty salon that may strike a kid’s curiosity,” Dr. Holland says. “The kids are listening, and if you talk about reading and literacy, it will make an impact.”
His message is clear: everyone has a role. Every voice matters. Every story counts. When you put these two initiatives side by side, you see a beautiful narrative unfolding in Rome — Classrooms filled with guest readers — barbershops filled with books. Students tracking minutes toward an 8-million-minute goal. Families joining in. Businesses saying, “We’re on board.” Teachers cheering students on. A community leaning in, lifting up, and sharing a mission.
Rome City Schools hopes that every child who hears a story in a classroom will later see a book in a salon and feel the same sense of curiosity. That every family that tracks minutes will notice improvement and celebrate reading together. That every corner of Rome, from school hallways to barbershop waiting areas, will echo with the joy of turning pages. And most of all, that every child will see themselves as a reader because that’s the real goal: not just raising test scores, not just meeting benchmarks, but raising readers, lifelong readers, who explore, imagine, and grow.