Education committee hears presentation on LEAD program that turns students into published authors

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis City-County Council’s Education Committee on Feb. 4 heard from the LEAD program, which its presenter said combines literacy instruction with entrepreneurship by helping participants write, publish and sell books.

Keith Graves, chair of the Education Committee, opened the presentation in the Public Assembly Room of the City-County Building and introduced the program and its participants. "Storytelling and literacy go hand in hand," Graves said, tying the presentation to the committee’s stated goal of ensuring grade-level reading proficiency by 2030.

The program’s presenter, identified in the meeting as Kevin Studdard (referred to in the presentation as Tevin), described LEAD — an acronym for Literacy, Entrepreneurship and Dreams — and said the initiative had turned "300 children in Indianapolis into authors, published authors," and worked with about 12 schools, including in Indianapolis Public Schools and charter and township schools. "When the kids write the books, they're paid for their books via Amazon," he said, and added that "3 kids go number 1 in the world, best selling books right here from Indianapolis." He told the committee the program began with free weekly sessions at Douglas Park and later partnered with schools.

Several student and adult authors spoke to the committee. Koya Spencer, introduced as an 11-year-old author who attended a LEAD class at Brookside Elementary, described her book and what inspired it. "What inspired me was, while we were writing the book, I found out that my, memoir had cancer. So I was like, oh, okay. So I can put it in the book," Spencer said. Camara Banks, a junior point guard at Crispus Attucks High School and author of "Halfway There," said her goal was to "inspire younger girls" and noted she has received scholarship offers from Ivy League schools. Student speaker Curt Lim Moore talked about pressure facing young people and about mental health and support in schools.

Adult participants described using the program’s techniques in tutoring and work with neurodiverse learners. Alicia Thomas, who described herself as the founder of Craft Connections and an autism advocate, said she uses storytelling and interactive experiences to make literacy "accessible and enjoyable" for neurodiverse learners. Mikaela "Miss Rice," a tutor with Elite Scholar Tutoring who said she took an adult class, said she has applied the program’s tools in SAT prep and reported notable improvements in a first-grade student’s fluency after three sessions.

Committee members asked logistical questions about participation and funding. Councilor Derek Cahill asked how people sign up; the presenter said the program maintains a website, readwithlead.com, and that some schools contract individually while other work is undertaken by the presenter "just doing it" with sweat equity. Councilor Brian Mowery and others praised the program’s approach and encouraged continued work ahead of Read Across America.

Graves and other committee members framed the presentation within the committee’s broader literacy goals. "Our ambitious goals include ensuring every student achieves grade-level reading proficiency by 2030," Graves said in his opening remarks, and he told attendees the committee values input from educators, students and community leaders.

No formal committee action or vote on funding was taken at the meeting. Committee members applauded the presenters and asked follow-up questions about nonprofit status and how community members could support the program; the presenter said he is in the process of establishing a nonprofit to accept support.

The presentation included several claims of program results that the presenter and students described to the committee: about 300 program participants who have published books, multiple students who achieved high sales rankings on Amazon, and a student athlete who said she received more than 50 scholarship offers and broke a single-game scoring record. Those figures were reported by the presenters and student speakers during the meeting and are presented here as their statements to the committee.

The committee did not schedule follow-up action at the meeting. Members encouraged the presenters to continue outreach and noted Read Across America as an upcoming opportunity to engage volunteers and families.