Let's Get LIT -Liberating Individuals Through Literary Text

08/17/2026

It was a Blessing and Honor to witness and participate in a dear friend of mine Dianne Sweet Snowden-johnson First ever Literacy Parade. When we attended Nazareth I loved her love for literacy with our youngest minds and her creativity. To see her continue to sore to greater heights is something magical to witness. We both believe literacy is liberation! Keep spreading love for literacy like confetti!

08/17/2026

Master’s of Education 2008 to Literacy Advocates 2026. We L.I.T. 📚

08/13/2026

When Wonder Becomes Curiosity

What happens when we give children permission to wonder?

I’m incredibly excited to share that Dr. Carol St. George and I have co-authored a new article, “Wonder Becomes Curiosity,” featured in the current issue of Rochester Women’s Online Magazine.

Our article explores something we often overlook in education: the power of wonder, curiosity, play, and meaningful experiences in how children learn.

Children are naturally curious. Before they can read a book, they are reading the world, asking questions, observing, experimenting, imagining, creating, and trying to make sense of everything around them.

And sometimes, the most powerful learning happens when we slow down enough to wonder with them.

This article is deeply connected to what we believe at Let’s Get L.I.T. ; Liberating Individuals Through Literary Texts: learning isn’t simply about getting children through a curriculum. It’s about nurturing thinkers, readers, problem-solvers, storytellers, and lifelong learners.

Wonder notices. Curiosity asks questions.Play discovers answers. And learning follows.

We’d love for you to read the article and, more importantly, share your thoughts with us.

💭 What made YOU wonder today?
💭 Do we give children enough time and space to be curious?
💭 What role do play, books, family conversations, and real-world experiences have in helping children learn?

Read it. Reflect on it. Share it. Start a conversation.

Because when we protect a child’s curiosity, we protect their possibility.

Literacy is liberation. And sometimes, liberation begins with a question.

08/13/2026

📚✨ LET’S GET L.I.T. ANNUAL COMMUNITY GIVE BACK! ✨📚

Rochester, it’s time to come together for a Family Fun Day where Literacy is Seen in Action!

Join Let’s Get L.I.T. Liberating Individuals Through Literary Texts on:

📅 Saturday, September 26, 2026
⏰ 12:00–2:00 PM
📍 Loretta Johnson Middle School
200 Genesee Street, Rochester, NY

Families and community members can enjoy a day filled with literacy, movement, music, books, activities, and fun for the whole family! 📖🏀🎶🐴

Because we believe LITERACY IS LIBERATION, and learning should extend beyond the classroom and into our communities.

💛 Bring the family. Bring a friend. Come experience literacy in action!

For more information:
Clianda Florence
📞 (585) 694-5254

08/02/2026

I’m honored to share my conversation with Ebony Nicole on Meet the Author, where we dive into the heart behind my newest poetry collection, HIM, a book that explores love, vulnerability, healing, intimacy, and the courage it takes to be fully seen. The interview is part of the 200N1 Project’s Kingdom Legacy Author series.

Have you ever wondered what inspired HIM?

I had the incredible honor of sitting down with Ebony Nicole for Meet the Author as a featured 200N1 Project Kingdom Legacy Author to share the story behind my poetry collection, HIM.

This conversation goes far beyond poetry. We talk about purpose, love, vulnerability, healing, faith, and the power of embracing every chapter of our journey. HIM is an invitation to feel deeply, love courageously, and recognize that our most authentic stories often become our greatest testimony.

If you’ve ever loved, lost, healed, or found yourself again, this interview is for you.

I would love for you to watch, like, comment, and share. Your support helps amplify independent authors and reminds the world that our stories matter.

Thank you to Ebony Nicole and the 200N1 Project for creating a platform that celebrates authors and the legacies we are building through the written word.

Watch the full interview here:
https://youtu.be/dwPI26y3qbE?is=hqFYr830We-iELsS

Welcome to Meet the Authors of the 200N1 Project, where we celebrat...

07/26/2026

Last week, Sebrone O. Johnson and I had the privilege of welcoming Jeff Smink to our Together Achieving More Summer Family Literacy Evening Program, a collaboration between EDceptional and Let’s Get L.I.T. What he shared wasn’t just a presentation, it was a wake-up call.

Together, parents, grandparents, educators, and concerned community members took a deep dive into the Education Trust-New York reports on the early literacy crisis impacting Rochester, Monroe County, and New York State. The numbers were difficult to hear, but they revealed a truth we can no longer ignore.

According to the Education Trust, fewer than 40% of Monroe County’s third graders are reading proficiently, and in Rochester, the numbers are even more alarming. Before the pandemic, only 18% of Rochester third graders were reading proficiently, compared with 45% across Monroe County and 52% statewide. These are more than statistics, they represent children whose futures, opportunities, and dreams are being shaped by whether or not they are given the fundamental right to read. (The Education Trust-New York⁠)

But here’s what gives us hope:

The report also reminds us that 95% of children can learn to read when they receive evidence-based instruction and the right support. This crisis is not inevitable. It is solvable. (The Education Trust-New York⁠)

As we wrestled with the data together, one thing became abundantly clear: literacy is not just an education issue. It is an economic issue. A workforce issue. A public safety issue. A family issue. A community issue. Most importantly, it is a human issue.

Frederick Douglass once said, “Once you learn to read, you will be forever free.” At Let’s Get L.I.T., we believe those words still ring true today: Literacy is Liberation.

We can no longer afford to stand on the sidelines while another generation is left behind. Change will not come from schools alone. It will come when parents, educators, faith leaders, businesses, policymakers, and neighbors unite around one common purpose: ensuring every child has the opportunity to read, to dream, and to thrive.

It truly takes a village.

Will you be part of the solution? Will you mentor a child, volunteer, advocate for evidence-based literacy instruction, support family literacy programs, or simply commit to reading with a child in your life?

The future of our community is being written today. Let’s make sure every child has the ability to read it.

07/25/2026

There is something truly beautiful about watching learning come alive.

This week, the youth and families of the Together Achieving More Summer Family Literacy Camp, a collaboration between EDceptional and Let’s Get L.I.T., had the opportunity to experience the power of learning beyond the classroom. After exploring Newton’s Laws of Motion, they traveled to Seabreeze Amusement Park, where every ride became a living lesson and every smile became evidence that knowledge has the power to transform the way we see the world.

When children can connect what they learn to real-life experiences, education is no longer about memorizing facts, it becomes discovery. It sparks curiosity, builds confidence, and reminds them that learning is everywhere. In those moments, barriers disappear, questions become adventures, and the world itself becomes their classroom.

This is the kind of education every child deserves, one that is engaging, meaningful, and filled with wonder. Because when we create opportunities for children to experience learning with joy, we aren’t just teaching lessons; we are inspiring futures.

Literacy is liberation. Learning is an experience. And together, we are empowering the next generation to dream, discover, and achieve more.

07/23/2026

07/22/2026

Together Achieving More Summer Family Literacy Program ~Week 3 🔬

Week 3 of the Together Achieving More Summer Family Literacy Program, a collaboration between Let’s Get L.I.T. (Liberating Individuals Through Literary Texts) and EDceptional, reminded our scholars that literacy is the foundation for understanding the world around them.

This week, we had the privilege of welcoming guest scientist and author, Mrs. Diane Eagles, who captivated our youth with an engaging exploration of Sir Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion. Through hands-on activities, thoughtful discussions, and scientific inquiry, our scholars discovered that science begins with curiosity and grows through reading, questioning, observing, and communicating.

Mrs. Eagles demonstrated that literacy and STEM go hand in hand. As students explored Newton’s Laws, they also strengthened their ability to think critically, ask meaningful questions, analyze information, and explain their learning with confidence. These are the very skills that prepare young people to become tomorrow’s innovators, problem-solvers, and leaders.

Sebrone O. Johnson and I extend our sincere gratitude to Mrs. Diane Eagles for sharing her knowledge, passion, and expertise with our students. Your commitment to inspiring young minds reinforces our belief that when community partners invest in children, extraordinary things happen.

As we continue this journey together, we remain committed to creating experiences that ignite curiosity, expand knowledge, and empower families through literacy.

Three weeks down. One more week to go!

Because literacy doesn’t just teach us how to read, it teaches us how to think, discover, and change the world. Literacy is liberation. ❤️📚🔬