Tapping the power of Grandmothers.
Equipping grandmothers and older women with professional training and evidence-based strategies to address the literacy crisis facing our children.
Our Kids Can’t Read
Too many Black and brown children can't read. Just look at the literacy rates. We might have had some growth, but where were we coming from? Parents cannot wait for the school to do it. They need to get involved and do it themselves. It's called self-determination. That's how we learned to read in the first place—we taught ourselves.
Grandmas Can Help
Grandmas4Literacy, led by grandmother Toya (Gigi) Algarin, is a groundbreaking pilot is a groundbreaking pilot project that meets grandmothers exactly where they are, in classrooms, senior centers, and community spaces, to address the literacy crisis head-on
Invest + Develop + Sustain = Gain
Grounded in the research of Nobel Laureate Professor James Heckman, Grandmas4Literacy is directing resources toward early literacy for children and nurturing soft skills like persistence through intergenerational care.
Untapped Community Power = Literacy
In Philadelphia, many children struggle to read; 67.5% of School District of Philadelphia 3rd graders scored below proficiency on the literacy sections of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests.
Grandmas4Literacy is a community-driven effort led by local grandmothers who believe every child deserves a chance to become a strong reader — and that they can be part of the solution.
Activities you can work on together
We use creativity — such as our crochet-and-read program — to make literacy a joyful and culturally relevant experience. Grandmas4Literacy isn’t a one-time fix. This movement shows the possibilities when older women are recognized and supported as changemakers in education.
