Community Leaders

The single greatest obstacle that can hamper a child’s educational progress is lacking the ability to read, and Alabama is falling behind the rest of the nation in reading proficiency. All of Alabama’s adjacent states – Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee – are ranked higher according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. If this trend is not reversed, it will have disastrous effects on Alabama. When children are provided with a strong start and a high-quality foundation in language and literacy, they are more likely to experience success in the classroom and remain engaged in school. Feed Me Words’ vision is that all children in Alabama will benefit from language-rich activities through everyday moments with adults around them- such as talking, playing, reading, and singing – to enhance healthy language and brain development.