An idea sparked by UW–Madison alumna Michelle Belnavis back in 2004 has now become an institution in Madison schools and throughout the state of Wisconsin.
Belnavis, who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum Instruction, was a longtime educator in the Madison Metropolitan School District before retiring in 2020. She first conceived of Read Your Heart Out Day at Midvale Elementary School in Madison to celebrate Black families and community members and to build parent engagement around literacy by inviting them into schools to read a book or share any form of literacy with students.
“I remember that first year in 2004 at Midvale. I still get a little emotional about it because when Read Your Heart Out was born, it was literally one school. It just grew to be more than I thought it ever could be or would be,” Belnavis told Madison365 recently in an interview from her home in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she now lives.
From its beginnings at Midvale, Read Your Heart Out Day soon grew to five schools and was moved to February to coincide with “100 Days of School” and National African American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID).
And then it grew even larger.
“Right now, we have 30 schools throughout the state in seven school districts,” Belnavis said. “Because of having to adapt to the new way of being in school (during the pandemic), many have chosen to go all virtual for Read Your Heart Out.
“The seven school districts that now host Read Your Heart Out include Madison, of course, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Beloit, Sun Prairie, La Crosse, and Verona,” Belnavis continued. “It’s just been amazing to me how those schools that are participating have been so creative in how to execute the Read Your Heart Out.”
This year, Read Your Heart Out Day is 18 years old, and has impacted many lives.
“I’m just overwhelmed with emotional gratification for the growth. Not only the growth, but also the quality of the event,” said Belnavis. “I am so thankful that we are building on the need to have books and texts read to our students that really signify their value. They are written by people — African American authors and illustrators — who look like them and those books show success in overcoming obstacles and being valued. That is what is most important to me.”
Check out Madison 365’s article to learn more about Read Your Heart Out Day.