Feeding hungry minds

Five groups helping kids read at a third-grade level

The data is daunting: Half of all Palm Beach County students in third grade don’t read well enough to succeed in fourth grade and beyond. 

Why third grade matters: Educators say that by the end of third grade, students make a pivotal transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.”

With so much at stake, several Palm Beach County organizations are focused on childhood literacy, which has been called the single greatest predictor of future success.

Stet’s Janis Fontaine spotlights five that are making progress: The Edna W. Runner Education Center, Roots & Wings, the Foundations School, The Literacy Coalition and the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. We’ll bring you one of her reports each week.

First of five

A new school look at old school phonics

In 2001, Travis Conway was a kid struggling academically in west Jupiter. His family found the West Jupiter Community Center, now the Edna W. Runner Education Center, and enrolled him there. Today, Conway is its CEO. 

The late Edna Runner, a teacher in the Limestone Creek neighborhood, opened the center with 40 children in 1986. It now has more than 3,000 students and has expanded twice, to more than double its capacity.

 In 2011, the site was rededicated as the Edna W. Runner Tutorial Center and in 2020, additional office space, a science classroom, a kitchen to support cooking lessons, a music instruction room and a counseling room were added. Outdoors, new learning areas included a turf playground, a butterfly garden and a regulation-length basketball court. 

In 2024, the name was changed to the Edna W. Runner Education Center and its expanded services included a multi-disciplined trade education track, a STEAM program, and improved recreation facilities where it offers after-school, spring break and summer camp services for elementary and middle-school-aged students. 

In 2012, Conway was a student at Indian River State College when he got a call from Runner. She needed his help. She needed to step away a bit, and could he step in? Yes, of course, he said. 

“I always admired the work teachers did, and seeing a student become better is rewarding,” he said.

Conway had earned an associate’s degree in elementary education thinking he might become a principal one day and was studying criminal justice in case he decided to study law. Because of Edna Runner, Conway had options.  

The Runner Center’s kids enter in the lower 25 percent of students who are prepared for school. When the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties offered Conway a chance to participate in a summer pilot program with the University of Florida’s Literacy Institute to help struggling readers in grades K-3 achieve grade-level proficiency, Conway accepted. 

“I was shocked to see how well it worked and the kids had a really good time doing it. It’s very interactive and it’s fun,” Conway said. Another benefit Conway noticed: “It was a huge confidence booster! The kids loved learning new skills, and they wanted to show them off.

“We’ve written grants to continue the program again this summer and by fall we hope it’s part of our program permanently,” he said. “The biggest expense is paying for certified teachers.”

Using the U-Fli system has persuaded Conway that a focus on proven methods applied consistently works. 

“I think the answer is making sure we go back to old school phonics,” he said. “But that’s only part of the solution. It’s crucial that the kids are exposed to reading early. We can’t wait until third grade to address the problem.” 

The center has about 110 students enrolled each semester. In the summer, they can take up to 127. But the demographic — and the neighborhood — has changed. 

“When I started 12 years ago, our students were mostly Black. Today, 65 percent of our students are Hispanic. Jupiter is very expensive now. Back then, you could buy a house for $150,000.” 

Back then, the center was on the edge of town. Now Limestone Creek has attracted high-end homes and his kids depend on transportation from his “fleet” (a big bus, a minibus and a couple of passenger vans). 

Moving is not an option. “We’re a hub here. People know where to find us.”