Elected officials and education leaders talk holistic literacy approach at third annual Literacy Summit
State Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson, hosted the third annual Literacy Summit in Collegedale on Thursday, where he led a discussion about strategies for improving reading and writing with local and state education leaders.
Just under 40% of Hamilton County students are proficient in English language arts, according to the most recent Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program results.
"Every child has the desire to learn," Watson said. "You just have to figure it out."
Watson was joined by four other panelists: Lizzette Reynolds, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Education; Candy Johnson, president of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga; Deborah Reed, director of the Tennessee Reading Research Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville; and James Pond, president of the Governor's Early Literacy Foundation.