College of Education hosts children’s literacy event with local author, prizes [+VIDEO]

Abby Reish, second from left, a Middle Tennessee artist and teacher for English Language Learners in Rutherford County Schools in Tennessee, leads an illustration activity for attendees of the Southern Kid Literacy Festival put on by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education and the Rutherford Arts Alliance on Feb. 10, 2024, at the College of Education Building. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner)

Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education partnered with the Rutherford Arts Alliance recently to bring reading to community kids through the second annual Southern Kid Literary Festival held on the Blue Raider campus.

More commonly known as “SoKidLit!,” the event brought in 167 third through fifth graders, many arriving with friends and family in tow or as part of another partnership with the local pre-K-6 school district, Murfreesboro City Schools.

Kristin O’Donnell Tubb, left, a children’s author from the Middle Tennessee area, speaks to an attendee at the Southern Kid Literary Festival put on by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education and the Rutherford Arts Alliance where she spoke on Feb. 10, 2024, in a College of Education classroom. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner)

Participants rotated through various literacy-related activities throughout classrooms in the College of Education Building: flexing their drawing skills in the artist room; doing a “book tasting” in the library room; presenting a lesson in the teacher room; doing an experiment in the science, technology, math and engineering room; and attending a presentation in the author room from local writer Kristin O’Donnell Tubb.

“The SoKidLit festival is our way of demonstrating how important we think it is to raise the voices of children in our community,” said Katie Schrodt, associate professor of education and an event organizer. “We think kids have important things to say! Engaging in literacy, writing, drawing and speaking is a huge part of that.

Katie Schrodt, left, associate professor of education at Middle Tennessee State University, poses with Nichole Bell, alumna and teacher at Hobgood Elementary in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, at the College of Education Building on campus Feb. 10, 2024, as part of Southern Kid Literary Festival that Schrodt helped organize in partnership with the Rutherford Arts Alliance. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner)

“This year our partnership with the College of Education allowed us to honor the critical role of teachers in the community. It is because of teachers that many of us can read and write. We hope we inspired the students who came to be ‘Difference Makers’ through literacy and education.”

Schrodt emphasized the team effort of volunteering faculty that made the event possible, made up of Bonnie Barksdale, Joan Boulware, Heather Dillard, Holly Hebert, Stacy Fields, Angela Hooser, and DeAnne Luck. Graduate assistants and students Robin Foster, Jessica Buchanan, Fonya Scott and Karmen Khoury also offered their time and energy on a Saturday to make the Feb. 10 festivities go off without a hitch.

Schrodt’s co-director was the alliance’s Kory Wells. Schrodt said there have been previous iterations of the literacy event put on by the RAA, but she and Wells came together last year to launch the current version of the festival in a formal partnership that is hosted on campus.

“Between the Rutherford Arts Alliance and the College of Education, we hope to continue hosting events that cultivate collaborative relationships between families, schools and community members centered on elevating education and literacy,” Schrodt said.

“We really appreciate the opportunity to partner with groups like … the College of Education because it just helps us reach more people … helps us (reach) a younger audience,” Wells said.

Young attendees flex their artistic muscles at the Southern Kid Literary Festival put on by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education and the Rutherford Arts Alliance on Feb. 10, 2024, in the College of Education Building. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner). — Young attendees flex their artistic muscles at the Southern Kid Literary Festival put on by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education and the Rutherford Arts Alliance on Feb. 10, 2024, in the College of Education Building. These attendees at the illustration rotation worked with Kevin Page, a local illustrator. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner).

Schrodt said they were very pleased that Murfreesboro Eye Center and Read To Succeed served as the event’s 2024 book sponsors, helping each attendee receive a free book by Tubb. Additional sponsors included local Schaeffer Oil representative Tara Syester, MTSU’s Distinguished Lecture Fund, the Middle Tennessee Writing Project and Dr. Arthur Edwards.

Community comes together to make reading fun, accessible

Karmen Khoury, one of the volunteering graduate assistants, helped in the “teacher room.”

“I think it’s (the event) meaningful because it allows the community to come together while spreading awareness on the importance of literacy,” said Khoury, who came to education as a second career. “My experience at MTSU so far has been great. There’s a tremendous amount of support from professors and peers.”

A mother looks through a book with her daughter at the Southern Kid Literary Festival put on by Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Education and the Rutherford Arts Alliance on Feb. 10, 2024, at the College of Education Building. (MTSU photo by Stephanie Wagner)

Nichole Bell, sixth-grade teacher at Hobgood Elementary in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, returned to her alma mater to give back and help lead the STEM activity. She also spoke about her MTSU experience.

“I feel like it (MTSU) really helped prepare me for what I was going to be doing with students, what I was going to be working with and the demands of the profession,” Bell said, holding back tears. “I never thought that this is where I would be. I dreamed about it. I wanted it to happen. I never really thought that it would actually happen. So, it’s really surreal. It really makes all of the struggle and all of the hard things worth it because I’m actually getting to do what I love to do.”

Like Bell, Abby Reish, the featured artist who also works as a teacher for English Language Learners in Rutherford County Schools, offered her talents by engaging attendees in developing a main character for a story and unfolding the narrative through emojis and illustrations.

Author Kristin O’Donnell Tubb shared about her career trajectory and answered multiple questions from rapt, youthful audiences about the origins of her stories, the research required for her books, her favorite of her works and more, appearing to intrigue several aspiring authors.

Learn more about opportunities and events at the College of Education at https://mtsu.edu/education/.

— Stephanie Wagner (Stephanie.Wagner@mtsu.edu)