Report on a Community-Led Literacy Initiative and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary: Addressing a Critical Literacy Gap in New York State

A significant educational challenge has been identified in New York State, where data from the World Population Review indicates a severe literacy deficit. This report analyzes a collaborative initiative in Rochester, N.Y., designed to combat this issue, with a particular focus on its contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

• Approximately one in five individuals in New York State lacks basic literacy skills.
• Over 22% of adults in the state are reported to have low literacy, ranking New York as the second-highest in the United States for this deficiency.
• In response, the Rochester Public Library has partnered with the non-profit organization RocDog to provide innovative reading support programs for children.

Advancing SDG 4: Quality Education

The initiative directly addresses SDG 4, which aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The program’s design focuses on foundational literacy, a key component of Target 4.6, which calls for ensuring all youth and a substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy.

1. Combating Learning Loss: The program is strategically implemented to counter the “summer slide,” a phenomenon where students lose academic skills over the summer break, thereby supporting continuous learning.
2. Promoting Literacy Engagement: By creating a unique and appealing reading environment with therapy dogs, the program encourages children to engage with books and practice their reading skills in a low-pressure setting.
3. Fostering a Positive Learning Environment: The therapy dogs serve as non-judgmental reading partners. Children can read aloud without fear of correction for mispronunciation or grammatical errors, which builds confidence and a positive association with reading.

Integrating SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

The use of certified therapy dogs is a core component of the program that aligns with SDG 3, which seeks to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. The program recognizes the link between mental well-being and the capacity to learn.

• Anxiety Reduction: According to RocDog co-founder Sue Anthony, the interaction with therapy dogs helps absorb anxiety and negative energy, creating a calming effect on participants. This is critical for children who may feel stressed or anxious about reading.
• Animal-Assisted Intervention: The program leverages the proven benefits of animal-assisted therapy to improve emotional states, which in turn enhances a child’s receptiveness to educational activities. RocDog facilitates approximately 300 such community visits per month.

Fostering SDG 10 and SDG 11: Reduced Inequalities and Sustainable Communities

This initiative contributes to SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by providing accessible, free resources within a key public institution.

• Reducing Educational Inequality (SDG 10): By offering a free, high-quality literacy program in a public library, the initiative helps close the achievement gap for children who may lack access to other educational resources, especially during the summer.
• Strengthening Community Institutions (SDG 11): The program reinforces the role of the public library as a safe, inclusive, and vital community hub. It transforms the library into a place where community members feel valued and respected, encouraging repeat engagement and strengthening social fabric.

Strategic Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17)

The project exemplifies SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) through its effective collaboration between a public entity and a non-profit organization. The partnership leverages the unique strengths of each organization to achieve a common objective.

• Rochester Public Library: Provides the physical space, community outreach infrastructure, and a broader summer reading program titled “Color Our World.” It also offers incentives, such as a raffle for new library cardholders, funded by the Friends and Foundation of the Rochester Public Library (FFRPL).
• RocDog: Supplies a network of trained and certified therapy dogs and handlers, offering specialized services designed to provide comfort and support, thereby enhancing the educational experience.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

SDG 4: Quality Education

• The article’s primary focus is on addressing low literacy rates in New York State, which is a core component of quality education. It highlights that “About one in five people across New York state don’t possess basic literacy skills,” directly linking the issue to the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

• The initiative described uses therapy dogs to help reduce anxiety and stress associated with learning, thereby promoting mental well-being. The article states, “when they’re petting a dog, there’s just something that the dog is able to absorb. All that anxiety, negative energy,” connecting the program to health outcomes.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

• The article features public libraries as key institutions providing essential community services. By offering free access to resources and creating welcoming spaces, they function as strong, inclusive institutions. The library director notes the goal is to create “a place for them where they are valued and respected,” and the article highlights that a library card provides access to “a wide variety of free resources.”

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

• The success of the reading program relies on a partnership between a non-profit organization, RocDog, and a public institution, the Rochester Public Library. This collaboration between civil society and the public sector to achieve a common goal is a clear example of SDG 17.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

SDG 4: Quality Education

1. Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
   • The article is centered on this target, addressing the “lingering problem” of low literacy rates. It cites data that “more than 22% of adults in New York are lacking literacy skills” and describes programs aimed at children to combat the “summer slide” and “promote literacy engagement.”
2. Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
   • The program creates a non-judgmental and inclusive learning environment. The article describes it as a place where participants “don’t care about mispronunciation, grammatical errors, or choice in books.” The library director emphasizes making it “a place for them where they are valued and respected,” which aligns with creating a safe and inclusive learning space.

SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

1. Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
   • The use of therapy dogs is explicitly linked to promoting mental well-being. The article explains how petting a dog helps absorb “anxiety, negative energy, and just being able to just leave it with the dog,” directly contributing to this target.

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

1. Target 16.10: Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements.
   • The article highlights the role of the Rochester Public Library in providing public access to information. It mentions that “With a library card, community members can access a wide variety of free resources across the entire Monroe County Library System, including books, music, movies, events, Wi-Fi, workshops, computers and additional resources.”

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

1. Target 17.17: Encourage and promote effective public, public-private and civil society partnerships, building on the experience and resourcing strategies of partnerships.
   • The initiative is a partnership between RocDog, a civil society organization, and the Rochester Public Library, a public institution. The article details how RocDog is “paying a visit to local facilities, events and libraries” and doing “about 300 visits a month in the community,” demonstrating an effective partnership in action.

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3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Indicators for SDG 4 (Quality Education)

• Literacy Rate: The article provides a direct indicator for Target 4.6 by stating, “About one in five people across New York state don’t possess basic literacy skills” and “more than 22% of adults in New York are lacking literacy skills.” Progress would be measured by a decrease in this percentage.
• Program Participation: The number of reading sessions (“about 300 visits a month”) and the number of children and adults participating in the library’s summer reading programs serve as indicators of engagement in literacy activities.

Indicators for SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being)

• Provision of Mental Health Support Services: The number of therapy dog visits (“We do between 10 to 12 visits a day”) serves as an indicator of the availability of services aimed at improving mental well-being by reducing anxiety.

Indicators for SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

• Access to Public Information: The number of new library cards issued is an implied indicator. The article mentions a raffle where “Three new cardholders will become winners,” suggesting that tracking new sign-ups is a measure of increasing public access to the library’s resources.

Indicators for SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals)

• Number and Scale of Partnerships: The existence of the partnership between RocDog and the library is itself an indicator. The scale of the partnership, described by the number of dogs (“from a three-legged Yorkie all the way to a 180-pound English Mastiff”) and the frequency of visits (“about 300 visits a month”), indicates the partnership’s strength and reach.

4. Create a table with three columns titled ‘SDGs, Targets and Indicators” to present the findings from analyzing the article.

Source: spectrumlocalnews.com