20th Anniversary of Read Your Heart Out: A Community Push to Elevate Literacy
Left: Read Your Heart Out Founder Michelle Belnavis reads to children at Lincoln Elementary School as a part of the RYHO 20th Anniversary Celebration
Above: A volunteer reads to students at Stephens Elementary School circa 2016
by Jonathan Gramling
Michelle Belnavis, the founder of Read Your Heart Out 20 years ago in the basement of Midvale Elementary School, exudes positivity as we speak on the phone. Perhaps she is caught up in the moment of celebrating 20 years of hard work. But it is her positivity and belief in the abilities and talents of African American students that led to the start of Read Your Heart Out.
Belnavis worked in Reading Recovery with students who were behind in their literacy skills. And as is so often the case, her students were looked down upon for needing the literacy assistance that would eventually help them achieve on a par with their classmates. Belnavis wanted to change all of that.
“The kids in the classroom that these students were being pulled from felt like they didn’t really belong in the classroom when they had to leave and come into the basement,” Belnavis said. “It became this space now where we were going to make this space a space where we were going to invite people to come into our room and see what we can do. And it got to be that as soon as I came to pick up those kids, everyone wanted to come to the basement and read in that little classroom. And so it just evolved into how you can shift the mindset. ‘This is a great place to go because when I leave here, I’m going to feel like I matter and I am successful.’”
The concept was expanded to five schools.
“It started in Midvale’s basement,” Belnavis said. “We were paired with Lincoln. That was when we were going through the integration. Some of the schools that joined us in doing this, mixing kids together, involved Falk-Anana, Lowell-Hawthorne, and Mendota. They came together and we decided we would be a core model group to help build this idea, build the idea that these students who Michelle has been working with, mostly boys, mostly Black boys, can read. And they can write. And they can be successful in literacy. I believe that is really what started this trend. Invite families in so they can actually see what works. Invite 100 Black Men in. Fill the halls and put faces in front of the kids who look like them who aren’t doing as well so that they can see their potential. That’s how it all started. And then the families came in and they brought people from the churches. And they brought people from their neighborhoods and invited them.”
The positivity and can-do spirit also permeated Andreal Davis’ work on cultural competency. These efforts spread statewide.
“Andreal Davis and I joined hands together at the district office to start doing training for these schools so that they could get more resources, more books, more engaging material for specific students we were targeting. And then when the families came in and community members came in, it just became this one big goal from everyone to help kids do better. And it just continued to increase. And then I moved to the state level doing the same work with DPI and RTI. We were saying lifting as we climb, building positive identities, kids overcoming obstacles, changing ‘I Can’t to I Can.’”
And it spread further out as its impact became known.
“We can probably say the first five years, we were working on building a system,” Belnavis said. “And during the second ten years, that system became well-oiled and we figured out how to make some changes in the data. Year 15, it spread statewide to Oshkosk, Green Bay, Verona, Sun Prairie, Beloit and La Crosse. And here we are now in Year 20 and I view it as a massive success, especially with the kids being in the center and feeling like they are on top of the world. One of the kids the other day said, ‘This is the best day we have ever had. We just love Read Your Heart Out.’ The parents say, ‘Please don’t stop inviting us.’ And that was the message. ‘We want you to come back.’ This was the start to that and now it’s just a love pandemic. Everyone wants a shot. Everyone wants a booster. Everyone wants their vaccine. Everyone wants to get caught at Read Your Heart Out. So I am very thankful.”
And the program has had success.
“We won the Making a Difference Award at Falk-Anana a couple of years ago because of the change in scores on reading, things that really affected the work,” Belnavis said. “I never thought this would be what it is. And when I say that, I just mean the impact that it has had on our students and the communities and their families and the level of participation and the sustenance that keeps growing. We’ve had record numbers of participants and six school districts and 35 plus schools.”
And it has impacted the lives of children who had the talent to be successful if only they had the chance.
“A lot of the people who participated back then are now district administrators or superintendents,” Belnavis said. “One of the Black boys whom I taught in the basement, Rainey Briggs, was one of the students whom the teachers kept sending to me. ‘He can’t read. He can’t write. He’s a behavior problem. Can you take him?’ He spent more time in that basement with me. And he is now the first African American male superintendent in Baraboo. So many times we want to give up because it is hard work. But once you tap into their identity and how you can move them into a successful path and not give up on them when they try to have their way, I know that pays off for him now. As a superintendent, he needs that. I have a list of students who were often looked at and misunderstood. But now, they are doing really great things.”
While Belnavis retired in 2021 and moved to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina area to be near family, she came back to Madison on February 12th to celebrate Read Your Heart Out’s 20th anniversary at Lincoln Elementary School. It was a cause for reflection. In spite of 20 years and the COVID-19 pandemic, the program is still here impacting the lives of children.
“We’ve had a lot of transitions and lives celebrated,” Belnavis said. “My dearest friend, Stephanie Bernard, passed away. She was integral in getting it started at Midvale with me. As time goes on and you get to 20 years, you do think about that, the people who might not know that we continue to build the program. I got five messages last week about not getting an invitation. We’re going to work hard on getting people reengaged.”
And while Belnavis officially retired and moved to Charlotte, it doesn’t mean that she retired from Read Your Heart Out and promoting literacy.
“I started really looking at how I can retire, but not really retire,” Belnavis said. “I’m not retired from the work, but I officially retired and I am working with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library and their mobile library that goes to underserved populations in the city. We put culturally relevant books on our shelves just like we did with Read Your Heart Out in Madison and make sure they have access to these books that they often don’t see around them as much as they need to. I’m also working with one specific elementary school, Albemarle. I’m doing the same thing in their classrooms and library. It’s not as expansive. Charlotte is huge. I’m just trying to keep it close to my heart, so I am working with those two entities with Read Your Heart Out.”
Michelle Belnavis has dedicated her life to promoting literacy in the Black community and beyond. It has been more of an avocation for her than a career you can walk away from. Read Your Heart Out will always be close Michelle Belnavis’ heart.