Leotha Stanley's creative program in literacy
Ready Set Read
    Stanley is no stranger to the music community in Madison. He started the UW-Madison Gospel Choir in 1975 and has been the music director at Mount Zion
Church for the past 33 years. For the past decade, he has served as an “artist in residence” at various Madison area schools. In his spare time, he composes and
performs at community events. He is the author of “Be A Friend: The History of African American Music Through Words, Pictures, and Songs,” and “Spread My
Wings,” a songbook of nine original songs.
    Stanley views music as a powerful vehicle to make learning and reading fun for students. Through his music teachings-which include songs like “What You
Do Today is Your Road Map for the Future” and “Attitude Adjustment”- Stanley is able to promote the importance of education while also providing a different
kind of education. This is especially important, he said, given the limited resources for music programs in Madison schools.
    “Between athletics and creative arts, things are being cut left-and-right,” Stanley said. “By not having adequate music programs, you stifle a lot of talent that
may come forth.”
    Stanley has encountered a number of “shy” children, some who are not academically thriving, who subsequently “break out their shells” when they are given
the opportunity to express themselves through music.
    “Creative arts and athletics are the places that kids really get to shine,” he asserted. “That’s when you get to show who you are.”
Ready Set Read volunteer Allison Easter, a UW-Madison music major, applauds the program and said she wishes her elementary school had a program like
Ready Set Read when she was growing up.
    “To reach out to students and encourage them to read through music is such a fresh take on getting students to want to read,” Easter said.
While Stanley is considered a musical and educational inspiration to area youth, he credits those that equally inspired him when he was young. Although his
parents purchased a piano and provided music lessons for him and his two siblings, it was his elementary school experience that really solidified his passion for
music.
    “The thing that really catapulted me into music was the principal at my elementary school,” he said. “He started a marching band and I played drums with
the band. How many elementary schools are lucky enough to have a band?”
    Stanley also had some regular gigs playing piano at a funeral home (where he earned $10 a pop) and with various choirs. In high school, he played with a
jazz band and his school marching band. When he went on to pursue a degree in Education from UW-Madison and later to become a firefighter and
paramedic for the Madison Fire Department, Stanley continued using music as alternate way to express himself. In 2000, her resigned from his position at the
Madison Fire Department in order to devote more time to the community and his music teaching.
    “My job was getting in the way of my hobby,” he said with a chuckle.
    Through Ready Set Read and artist in residence programs, Stanley has reached out to thousands of area youth in an effort to bring music into their lives. At
a time when school resources and funding is dangerously low –with more and more cuts being made to music and arts programs- Stanley is bringing much
needed musical and creative education to Madison students. Yet, like many programs, funding for another year of Ready Set Read is not yet secured. Stanley
only hopes that he is able to reach more children next year with this innovative approach to literacy and life education.
       
By Laura Salinger

     Conventional curriculum is not the only way to help children improve their reading skills. Leotha Stanley, well-known
local musician and assistant to the director of community relations at UW-Madison’s chancellor’s office, uses music as a
way to motivate and teach area youth.
    Two years ago, Stanley created the Ready Set Read program to help Madison area fourth and fifth graders improve
their literacy skills through song.
    “We all come equipped with different abilities in our learning and we all express ourselves differently,” Stanley said.
“What better way is there to express yourself, and learn at the same time, than with music in your life?”
    This year, 280 student participants from three Madison schools performed at the Overture Center as part of Ready Set
Read. They sang songs composed by Stanley that focus on education, literacy, friendship, and life.
    “It is a big, big deal for them,” Stanley said about the performance. “Some people never go into the Overture Center. It
is an important place of arts that everyone should have access [to.] The Ready Set Read program not only gives them that
access but allows them to be on stage.”
Photo credit: Jeff Miller
Leotha Stanley created the
program for kids to improve their
literacy skills through song.