A community that reads together, grows together.
When Erickson Elementary School teacher Kayla Dillion asked Erickson paraprofessional Kallista Walker and two other community members to record themselves reading a book, it sparked a grassroots initiative called Our Community Reads that has caught fire in the Ypsilanti area.
"That was the first time I'd been referred to as a community leader, and I was so honored, so I put on my afro wig and recorded myself reading 'Ellington is Not a Street,'" Walker says, referencing the party wig she wears each time she records herself reading a book.
About a week after recording the video, the Ypsilanti resident had a phrase repeating over and over in her head: "A community that reads together grows together."
Our Community Reads was born and Kallista hasn’t slowed down one bit.
