COLUMBUS, Ohio — Students at the Linden Park Early Childhood Education Center in Columbus have some new cheerleaders coming alongside them to encourage and boost their literacy skills. 

What You Need To Know

• National Honor Society Students at Columbus Alternative High School are stepping in to help boost literacy skills 


• Books with diverse characters are being collected to help kids see themselves as they learn


• Linden Park Early Childhood Education Center is looking forward to expanding the initiative after Black History Month 

It’s a part of the National Honor Society’s Black History Month Children’s Book Drive at Columbus Alternative High School.

It’s the first time the NHS there has hosted a drive like this as a service project, where all the books collected have diverse characters. Those books will be donated to kids from ages three to five at Linden Park Early Childhood Education Center. When they’re donated, students will also spend a day reading with the children there. 

“As people of color, we never really got that representation when we were kids so, like finding those books and making them accessible and like resources at hand for children and their teachers was something that was like important for us.” said student Maya Rios.

Linden Park Principal Rhonda Childs said ultimately they want to grow readers.

“We want to grow strong readers and make sure that they have that support,” she said. “And it starts really at this age of really implementing the love of reading.”

That’s because as they’re building literacy skills, she said it’ll not only have a great impact on their success at school but also at home. While students are taking the month to help build kids’ literacy toolboxes, Childs said there’s already a plan in the works to expand what they’re doing. That includes students from CAHS’ IB program.

“Where they actually become reading buddies with our students,” she said.

She said this will lay a foundation for kids to not only learn to become great readers, but teachers themselves as they pay it forward one day. 

As for students at CAHS like Osiena Haile, she said this initial opportunity will give her a chance to leave a lasting impression.

“A lot of our resources aren’t put in neighborhoods like this, so I want to put my mark here so I can show people that Black people are strong,” she said. “Black people are powerful. Black people are smart.”