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OXFORD – A group of University of Mississippi students is taking a hands-on approach to improve children’s reading skills in the state by donating reading resources to third-grade students in the Natchez-Adams School District.

Since 2013, education reform in Mississippi has helped dramatically improve the state’s fourth-grade reading score ranking from 49th to ninth in the nation. UM students want to add to the positive momentum to help the next generation succeed.

“Literacy is a foundation to everything in life,” said Cate Drane, an Ole Miss junior and founder of The Children’s Literacy Project. “Illiteracy leads to a multitude of problems – not only for learning in school.”

Founded at the start of the 2024-25 academic year, the student organization focuses on strengthening reading skills among K-5 students. Members assembled more than 250 literacy kits, which will be delivered during a special assembly at McLaurin Elementary School on Friday (Feb. 7).

Each third-grader will receive a copy of “The Lemonade War” (Clarion Books, 2007), this year’s Mississippi Reads One Book selection. Additionally, they will get a reading guide, writing supplies and a letter home to their family with tips to help build their child’s reading and comprehension abilities.

Twelve teachers will also receive lesson plan resources.

The Mississippi Reads One Book program encourages schools across the state to read one book together from Feb. 10 to 28. “The Lemonade War” invites classrooms and families to learn about topics such as relationships and forgiveness.

A Natchez native, Drane is a public policy leadership and public health double major working on minors in chemistry and biology.

Since her freshman year, she has also volunteered as an academic guide for Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction’s Mission Acceleration program, an AmeriCorps-funded K-5 literacy tutoring program, and seen how investing time and resources pays off.

“My first year, I worked with a little girl in first grade in Marks, Mississippi,” Drane said. “During her entry assessment for reading, she was crying because she couldn’t read or understand anything.

“Slowly but surely, that little girl read words, then sentences, then paragraphs and chapter books.”

In her organization’s inaugural year, Drane chose to donate resources to her hometown schools to help strengthen the district’s state testing scores for reading.

Angela Rutherford is the faculty adviser for The Children’s Literacy Project and director of the university’s Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction. She said it gives her hope for Mississippi’s future to see dozens of college students voluntarily invested in enhancing the next generation’s reading skills.

“If you can’t read by the end of grade three, you’re more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to drop out of high school, less likely to go to college or have a consistent career, and more likely to be on public assistance,” Rutherford said.

The Children’s Literacy Project used discretionary funds from the Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction to purchase the literacy kit resources for students and educators. The group is applying for grant funding and plan to partner with rural school districts in the future.

For information about supporting or joining the student organization, contact Drane at mcdrane@olemiss.go.edu.