New York, NY — Barbershop Books, a national literacy nonprofit dedicated to inspiring Black boys and other vulnerable children to read for fun, is proud to announce that it has been awarded a $200,000 learning solutions grant from NewSchools Venture Fund to advance the development and evaluation of Reading So Lit, a groundbreaking reading identity development tool for grades PK-5. This strengths-based reading intervention helps teachers create personalized reading experiences that recognize the whole child, their families, and the communities in which they live. It also accelerates reading achievement by improving social and emotional elements of reading, which research has shown to accelerate reading achievement among students experiencing poverty.
Barbershop Books’ Founder and Chief Reading Inspirer, Alvin Irby, is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher. Irby says, “For over 10 years, our work has cultivated Black boys’ reading identities. A recent two-year evaluation by Dr. Susan Neuman of the Barbershop Books program found that Black boys who visit barbershops with our child-friendly reading spaces are more likely to identify as readers. Reading So Lit leverages insights from our child-centered and community-driven literacy programming to enable student-driven decision making in the classroom and beyond.”
About Reading So Lit
Reading So Lit places students in the driver’s seat of their reading journeys. Together, students and teachers uncover what reading means to them and explore how it shows up in their everyday lives. This first-of-its-kind reading identity development platform makes reading personalization easy, holistic, and affordable. It leverages multimedia, social-emotional learning, and artificial intelligence to generate actionable, strengths-based insights that aren’t available in traditional reading programs and assessments.
Delores Connors, an elementary school teacher in Teaneck Public Schools who participated in a recent pilot implemented by Barbershop Books, shared that “Coaching male high school students of color to implement Reading So Lit during the summer of 2024 was one of the highlights of my 30 year teaching career. Witnessing 6-8 year old boys joyfully participating in discussions about different choices that readers make and listening to them talk about what they like as a reader is something I hope all teachers get to experience.”
With a focus on culturally responsive teaching, Reading So Lit enables educators to collect and analyze strengths-based data about students’ reading preferences and attitudes. This data equips teachers with the insights needed to make personalized and effective reading recommendations to both students and caregivers. The platform’s adaptive technology also supports independent student explorations, encouraging young readers to apply the concepts learned in classroom discussions.
Barbershop Books will be partnering with LeanLab Education, a nationally recognized research nonprofit, to pilot Reading So Lit in select schools during the 2024-2025 school year.
About NewSchools Venture Fund
NewSchools Venture Fund is a venture philanthropy that invests in visionary education solutions aimed at improving student outcomes, particularly for those furthest from opportunity. Through its Learning Solutions cohort, NewSchools funds and supports innovators who are developing tools and models to accelerate K-8 reading and math growth, helping students build essential skills and creating opportunities for personalized learning through AI-driven solutions.
For more information about Reading So Lit, visit here.
