What We Do
Literacy Hubs.
An unique element of the Start Lighthouse mission is our focus on reviving defunct library spaces within Title I schools. An expanded network of Start Lighthouse’s Literacy Hubs provides high quality materials and a safe space to gather during the day, after-school, on Saturdays, and in the summer.
Age- and culturally-relevant books for young New Yorkers will be readily accessible. Our students enjoy what they read, remain engaged in the reading process, and improve rapidly. Importantly, they will see themselves in what they read.
Literary Adventures.
Start Lighthouse's Literary Adventures are immersive experiences led by BIPOC authors and illustrators, hosted onsite at NYC public schools, designed to revitalize a love for reading. Students curate their own library from new, free, and engaging multicultural books that reflect the culturally diverse lives and experiences of their community.
We eliminate the financial barrier to book ownership for our students and their families.
By building first-time home libraries and exposing students and their families to a world of possibilities, we are driving a cultural shift around how reading is approached and perceived. This is the very moment that the act of reading transitions from an obligation to a choice.
Woke Activists.
We reimagine literacy by centering social justice within our curriculum, in turn fostering youth voice, agency, and engagement. Young people address social issues, biases and assumptions through literature that reflects the diversity in today’s society. They will know that their history and perspective matters. Our curriculum and materials encourage critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity, ensuring that our most marginalized youth will not be left behind.