WATCH NOW | 2nd Annual Bassett Symposium
View the Event Program Booklet
WEC’s 2nd Annual John E. Bassett Symposium highlighted the need for collective community action to ensure all children experience the transformational power of literacy. The event began with the presentation of the prestigious "Apple of a Different Color" award to Ralph Smith, Managing Director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, in recognition of his decades-long commitment to advancing literacy and educational equity.
Mr. Smith then shared his insights on the event’s theme – Empower Every Child: Literacy For All. He called for a community effort starting for children at birth that engaged schools, families, community organizations, and businesses “so that each child will have the capacity to contribute to their own journey to adulthood and citizenship in our community.”
Following Mr. Smith’s keynote, he was joined by Dr. Patrick Proctor, Department Chair for Teaching, Curriculum & Society at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education, for a fireside chat on the intersection of research, practice, and community engagement for advancing literacy. The chat was moderated by Jason Homer, Executive Director of the Worcester Public Library. They discussed the importance of schools engaging parents and families as assets in addressing the literacy challenge. They also emphasized the importance of multilingualism, culture, and storytelling to improve children’s reading. “Finding out where those reading gaps are and closing them – that is our job and we hope it’s yours as well.”
Dr. Rachel Monárrez, Superintendent of Worcester Public Schools, closed the event by reaffirming the district’s commitment to this community-wide effort. She reported that progress was already being made in improving reading achievement but that much more needed to be done. “This is a collective journey that we all need to be on because we can all agree that getting all children to read is a fundamental civil right.”
