When Susan Crisafulli decided to engage her English students at Franklin College in a conversation about literacy, she wanted to provide them with firsthand experience in a classroom setting. So, she took them into elementary schools in an effort to provide extra literacy support. It quickly became apparent that there was room for improvement.
“We were learning about low literacy and literacy techniques,” says Crisafulli, board president of the Johnson County Imagination Library. “It was very clear that the kids who were struggling the most didn’t have books at home.”
A former resident of Tennessee, Crisafulli was already familiar with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. A program that launched in Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is her passion project, focused on developing a love of reading in children ages 0 to 5. Crisafulli‘s own children had participated in the initiative and she saw the potential for improving literacy rates by adopting the program in Johnson County. First, she needed to show just how pervasive the problem was.
“I didn’t want to propose a solution until I could prove my hunch,” she says. “I contacted all the surrounding school districts. We found that 41% of students were entering kindergarten without any literacy skills to help them be successful. It was a surprisingly high number for this area. That’s all I needed to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Johnson County.”
Studies have shown that reading helps to foster creativity, empathy, academic success and critical-thinking skills. But not everyone has the same access to books. Luckily for us, Dolly Parton was willing to take on that challenge and made it her purpose to put free books into the hands of preschool children.
“There is so much research that [indicates] having that early exposure to books helps set them up for success,” says Crisafulli.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program seeks to provide age-appropriate reading material to help develop literacy in children before they enter school. Books are chosen by childhood literacy experts from the Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee. The selections aim to develop early language and math development skills.
Every child in Johnson County is eligible to receive free books, mailed directly to their homes with their own mailing label. “Many people only sign up one kid per household, but every child is eligible,” says Crisafulli. “Kids get high-quality books chosen specifically for their age. I strongly encourage families to sign up every child. We want as many kids signed up for this program that can be.”
Since its inception in 2017, more than 3,000 children have graduated from the program, and more than 4,500 are currently enrolled.
“We currently have about 50% of kids enrolled in Johnson County and we absolutely want that to be 100%,” says Crisafulli. “It’s so easy and takes two minutes to sign up.”
Parents can register their children online at imaginationlibraryjoco.org/register.
