Knowledge is Power: Faith
Meet Faith, an 11-year-old basketball enthusiast from the Northside who one day dreams of playing in the WNBA. But off the court, Faith was struggling with reading, falling far behind her teammates in the classroom.
“When I was five years old, I didn’t know how to read,” recalls Faith. “And when I was eight, seven, and six, I still didn’t know how to read.”
The frustration began to take an emotional toll on her.
“She would shut down when she saw other kids reading, and she couldn’t,” Faith’s mother and number one cheerleader, Tata, remembers. “She felt like she wasn’t worth anything.”
Stories like Faith’s are as common here on the Northside as they are throughout the state of Minnesota and across our country, but they aren’t new. Disparities in reading outcomes between Black and white students existed long before the global pandemic. Today, in Minnesota, just 13% of Black fourth graders are reading at grade level, compared to 50% of their white counterparts.
Spotting a gap in her daughter’s offensive strategy, Tata called a timeout. Active in NAZ’s Family Coaching program since 2016, Tata reached out to her Family Achievement Coach. The coach connected Faith with a tutor at Reading Partners, which creates fastbreaks for Northside youth by diligently recruiting and training tutors to ensure that each student receives high-quality, personalized instruction for 45 minutes, two times a week onsite at school. By running drills tailored to each student, Reading Partners is just one of 35+ NAZ partners helping players like Faith find their sweet spot and build a winning mindset. With an all-star support team of family, a tutor, and a NAZ Coach, Faith’s reading game improved dramatically.
“One day Faith came home. She was so excited to show this book to me—and she was reading!” says Tata.
Her progress is not just academic; it has profoundly impacted Faith’s self-esteem.
“I feel proud of myself for reading better than when I was little,” says Faith.
This confidence boost has opened up a whole new playbook for a student who had put herself on the defensive about her own abilities. WAY TO GO, FAITH!