Pauly Hart of Lead to Read KC is passing the baton this December

Pauly Hart // Courtesy photo

For the last eight years, Pauly Hart has championed students across the Kansas City metro area as the executive director of Lead to Read KC. Under her leadership, the program has experienced immense growth, nearly quadrupling the number of reading mentors in the program from the time she started. In December, she’ll be passing the baton.

We got to chat with her about the growth the organization has experienced, pivoting during the pandemic, and more.

The Pitch: Were there any mottos or manifestos that you lived by over the course of your career at Lead to Read?

I heard Kathy Nelson say it one time, and it’s been what’s gotten me through, “It’s not no, it’s not yet.” I always said I don’t take no for an answer when it comes to Lead to Read. I take no for an answer for a lot of things in my life, but I can’t figure out why anyone would say no to Lead to Read because it just impacts everybody in the community.

You’ve grown the reading mentor program from 300 to over 1000 volunteers. What has that process been like for you?

When I came on board, between 200 and 300 reading mentors were serving that many children. Then, we quickly realized that a way to grow fast would be to partner with businesses. Burns and McDonnell was our first corporate partner. The reason those corporate partnerships enabled us to grow fast is because instead of getting one or two volunteers, we would go out and give presentations and come back with a list of, you know, 25 or 30 people who would be interested. So, companies really saw the value in supporting the future workforce, but they also quickly saw the value in the program because it fosters teamwork within the organization.

Most of our volunteers tell us it’s the best part of their week to go in and just completely shift gears from what they’re doing during the day. You know, an engineer who goes in and sits down on a beanbag chair and reads a Curious George book with a kid and helps them learn their letter sounds is just such a diversion and a delight.

During the pandemic, you all really had to shift gears. What was that like as far as ensuring that students were still able to have access to reading and have time to further grow their reading skills amid all the chaos that transpired?

Yeah, it was a crazy time for everyone. A lot of nonprofits just had to step back and kind of play the waiting game, and we didn’t do that. As soon as we saw that students were out of school and that the learning would undoubtedly suffer, we just started doing research. We found a company in Canada called Hoot Reading, which had an online tutoring program. We partnered with them and serviced 700 students. We also added a community book distribution program during COVID because many schools were closed, and we wanted to get books to kids.

You were the 15 and Mahomies Foundation’s Community MVP awardee this year. What was it like receiving that regarding your efforts for children’s literacy?

I was very honored to be recognized as their Community MVP. The impact that Patrick Mahomes can have on children’s reading is just incredible. I’m just so excited for him to continue to support children’s literacy and to encourage children to read outside of school and become the strong readers and successful students they need to be. If anyone can provide that incentive or encouragement, it’s Patrick Mahomes.

Pauly (left) at the 15 and Mahomies Gala in 2022 // Courtesy photo

Were there any moments during your time at Lead to Read that really solidified your want to continue to foster spaces like it beyond your time there? 

When I hear from volunteers about their personal experience in the classroom reading with a student, it really touches my heart. The moment I knew we had to keep doing what we were doing was when we finished a two-year study with UMKC’s Urban Education Research Center. We needed to know if what we were doing was positively impacting student reading.  We needed to know that just 30 minutes once a week makes a difference. So, we engaged the research arm, and the two-year study proved that what we’re doing does work. Our first graders outperformed their control groups on their district reading assessments, and our second graders outperformed control groups on sight word acquisition.

That study made me realize that this is not only a great program but that it works. It needs to expand, it needs to grow, and we need to reach more students.

Can you sum up your career at Lead to Read in three words?

Helping kids read.

What’s next for you after Lead to Read?

I don’t have any immediate plans. I do know that I will continue to support the children in Kansas City and help them become strong students and successful people in life. I will continue to be a reading mentor. My husband and I share a student at Brookside Elementary. My heart is with the organization. I learned a term the other day, and it’s “ikigai.” It’s a Japanese term that refers to something that you identify as your passion and how you can give back by doing it. Lead to Read has been my ikigai. I’m excited for the next chapter of Lead to Read.