Mayor John Carney on Wednesday announced a new partnership with Reading Assist and Mrs Wordsmith to improve literacy skills and encourage reading this summer. The tutoring and training program, managed by Reading Assist, will serve around 200 students, ages 6 to 14, across the City of Wilmington at the Police Athletic League (PAL) of Wilmington and the William “Hicks” Anderson Community Center.
“There are schools in the City of Wilmington where less than seven percent of students read on grade level. The City of Wilmington must do all we can to help these children and our communities succeed,” said Mayor John Carney. “We need to meet students where they are: at community centers and summer programming. I’m excited to get to work with community leaders, Reading Assist, and Mrs Wordsmith to help our students gain the skills and confidence in reading at Hicks and PAL.”
Closing the Literacy Gap
The Office of the Mayor is supporting the Reading Assist program at both the PAL and Hicks Anderson Community Center. Reading Assist provides high-dosage tutoring for students in grades K–3 in the lowest 25% for reading proficiency, with a focus on schools where the need is greatest.
Reading Assist program leaders will be on-site training center staff in the science of reading and phonics instruction to implement with students throughout the summer. About 14 staff will be trained and supported by Reading Assist, with additional tutors providing high-impact literacy instruction—30 to 40-minute lessons, three to five times a week.
“We have added education to our list of programs so that everyone can get the help and the assistance they need to be productive in their education process,” said Chris Purnell, Executive Director of the PAL of Wilmington. “We want to be that bridge from home to school and school to home, and make sure everybody is getting the support they need.”
Leveling Up Wilmington's Reading Resources
To enhance instruction, Mrs Wordsmith will provide free access to 10 different resources, including card games, video games, flipbooks, and worksheets.
Mrs Wordsmith is a leading game-based learning company that creates Hollywood-quality products to improve literacy outcomes for children ages 4–11.
Among the tools is Blah Blah Blah, a phonics-aligned card game for early readers, and Readiculous, a vocabulary-building video game that has been shown to increase scores by 43 percent within a month. All products are research-based, created with guidance from skilled educators, and tested in collaboration with Sesame Workshop.
“Reading Assist has a history of tutoring Wilmington students for 35 years. We’re excited to partner directly with two fantastic community centers to deliver literacy supports,” said Caroline O’Neal, CEO of Reading Assist. “We are grateful for Mayor Carney’s commitment to our City’s children and his advocacy for literacy to build a stronger Delaware.”
The 12-week summer programming will run alongside existing PAL and Hicks activities, integrating literacy seamlessly into students’ daily routines.
A Page-Turning Passport
Students will also receive a “Page-Turner Passport” highlighting reading milestones from the Reading Assist curriculum, Mrs Wordsmith resources, and other community reading events—such as visiting Delaware libraries, attending story times, or discovering new words on a field trip.
“While the focus, of course, is on reading and comprehension, what makes this program unique is that our older youth—ages 14 to 20—will also have the opportunity to serve as peer mentors through our Parks and Recreation Youth Career Development Program,” said Melody Phillips, Ph.D., Acting Director of the City of Wilmington Parks & Recreation. “By placing these youth at Hicks this summer, we’re not only offering them meaningful work experience, but also creating a supportive learning environment for our younger students to prevent summer learning loss and boost confidence in reading.”
“We know that strong phonics and a rich vocabulary are the foundations of reading,” said Brandon Cardet-Hernandez, President of Mrs Wordsmith. “We also know that students lose about 20% of their school year gains in reading over the summer. That’s why I’m so thrilled to partner with Reading Assist and Mayor Carney to bring our game-based and science-backed tools straight to Wilmington kids—and ensure that students are maintaining and growing the skills they’ve worked hard to develop all year.”
Cover Photo by FatCamera via Canva
