Celebrating 30 Years of SMART Reading

The 2021-22 school year marks the 30th anniversary of SMART Reading. We celebrated three decades of bringing the joy of books and reading to kids throughout Oregon with some fun activities:

• SMART Art: To celebrate the imaginative, transformative power of books in children’s lives, we’ve commissioned a series of public art murals in communities across the state. We’ve partnered with some amazing muralists and we can’t wait for you to see the murals. Installation is happening in Summer 2022. For photos and the latest updates, click here. 
• Literacy Summits: We hosted two virtual summits to convene partners, educators, volunteers, supporters, and families for solutions-oriented discussions and learning around early literacy.
  • On Thursday, Oct. 21, we convened a group of education and policy leaders to discuss the state of early literacy in Oregon and share strategies for supporting reading development and social-emotional learning for our state’s youngest students. You can view resources shared by our speakers here. 
  • On May 18, we were joined by librarians, authors, nonprofit leaders, booksellers, and educators for an afternoon focused on why representation in children’s books matters, what trends they’re seeing nationally, and what you can do to help ensure the kids in your life have access to an inclusive bookshelf. Click here to view a recording of the session.