BATAVIA, Ohio — A literacy program that started three summers ago with a Facebook post asking if local families needed help with reading now serves more than 200 children a week from a 4,300-square-foot space on Main Street, according to Letters 2 Literacy.
The nonprofit was featured this week in the Village of Batavia’s “On Main Street” series, which spotlights businesses and organizations along the village’s downtown corridor.
Cassie Carter, a longtime classroom teacher and reading specialist, launched what became Letters 2 Literacy in the summer of 2023 after offering free tutoring help to local families, the village said. About 30 students showed up each week that first summer, and the turnout convinced Carter that Batavia-area families needed more individualized reading support than schools alone could provide.
Carter turned the effort into a nonprofit learning center with her longtime teaching partner, Ashleigh Huber. Both women spent 11 years in the classroom before leaving teaching to run the organization full time, according to the village’s post.
The organization, based at 150 West Main Street, now employs 22 people and serves students ages 3 to 18 with reading and phonics instruction, writing and math tutoring, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy, Letters 2 Literacy said. Every session is built around the individual student, and reading instruction follows a structured literacy approach.
According to the organization’s mission statement, Letters 2 Literacy aims to “close the literacy gap through evidence-based instruction and support, ensuring that all children, no matter their socioeconomic status, have the opportunity to develop strong foundational skills in reading and writing.” The nonprofit offers financial assistance to qualifying families so cost is not a barrier to enrollment.
“Every child deserves to know how to read, and I truly believe no child is ever too far behind and no family should feel like they have to figure it out alone,” Carter said in the village’s post.
Families interested in tutoring or enrollment can reach Letters 2 Literacy through its website, letters2literacy.info.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Village of Batavia.