Kansas City waiting rooms transform into havens for kids to read, in new partnership
The waiting areas in some Kansas City health clinics, community agencies and more are getting transformed into reading spaces to encourage families to use idle time to explore books, Kansas City Public Schools and the Kansas City Public Library announced Monday.
For the new Kansas City Loves to Read project, district and library officials worked together to find locations where parents would benefit from having books at their disposal as they wait for appointments.
“We want our parents to read with the kids,” said Courtney Adams, family and community engagement manager for KCPS. “Why don’t we read instead of you being on my phone, taking a nap or watching the TV they have? Let’s read and have some quality time.”
It began as a reading program launched by KCPS Superintendent Jennifer Collier only in schools. The district wanted to expand the program for times students aren’t in school.
KCPS wants reading to be a regular part of a child’s day and has several programs during the school year where students stop what they are doing and read for 15 minutes or share new books by reading them aloud.
With KCPS having a preexisting partnership with the library for their Book of the Week program, partnering for this initiative made sense.
“We are bringing in an array of new high quality children’s books that were selected with the specific needs of the organization they serve in mind,” said Elizabeth Giles, the library’s outreach youth librarian. “I think it will be beneficial because we know that families with children are very busy and that they spend a lot of time out in the community waiting for appointments and running errands.”
The Sosland Foundation, a Kansas City philanthropic group, donated $25,000 to the library, $18,000 of which pays for 125 to 175 books at the eight locations, furnished with kid-friendly décor and literacy-focused learning toys.
Some locations may focus more on younger children, while others may be geared toward bilingual kids needing books in other languages.
“We wanted a place where every family could find something that reflected their experience and identity,” said Giles.
Adams feels that a big part of the effort will be making sure parents know how vital it is to make reading a regular part of a child’s day.
“Studies show daily reading drastically increases the amount of vocabulary words a kid knows before even entering kindergarten,” said Adams, who has worked for the district for five years.
The areas won’t be monitored by any security. If a family leaves with a book, Giles sees a kid with a book to read as a victory in a loss.
“If they walk out of the areas with a book, that is life,” said Giles, the outreach and youth librarian who has worked for the organization for three and a half years.“We plan on replenishing books on a regular basis. We are not encouraging people to take the books home, but if someone sees a book, they have to have it. That is the point, right?”
KCPS and the library hope more organizations will get involved.
“We are excited being able to provide a wealth of good reading options to kids in the places that they already go,” said Adams. “Reading builds leadership, confidence and all these things we would love to display, so it might make parents more likely to pick up a book instead of the phone.”
Kansas City Loves to Read locations
Research Medical Center, 6601 Rockhill Road.
Swope Health Center, 3801 Blue Parkway.
Samuel Rodgers Health Center, 825 Euclid Ave.
Kansas City Police Department Police Athletic League, 1801 White Ave.
Mattie Rhodes Center, 1701 Jarboe St.
Phoenix Family East Hills Village, 2338 Warwick Trafficway.
Jackson County Family Justice Center, 625 E. 26th St.
Missouri Department of Social Services, 615 E. 13th St.
This story was originally published July 10, 2023 at 2:16 PM.
