“Reading Takes Us Places”
A community mural by Haverhill’s young readers
“Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”
About the project
The “Reading Takes Us Places” mural was the culminating project for Haverhill Promise’s 2020 City-Wide Reading Challenge. Research shows that twenty minutes of daily reading practice is enough to stem learning loss during school interruptions like closures, vacations and summer break, so when the Covid-19 pandemic forced Haverhill schools to close their doors in the Spring, Haverhill Promise sought out a creative way to incentivize daily reading and keep our students on track. The City-Wide Reading Challenge ran from March 2020 through the end of the school year, with over 750 students of all ages tracking their daily reading for a chance to win prizes each week.
But how does reading turn into a mural? Students who participated in the challenge for six weeks or more were invited to help paint a community mural as a reward for their impressive commitment to daily reading. Haverhill Promise partnered with Creative Haverhill to design and implement a colorful 5-panel mural depicting children floating down the Merrimack River reading, and at the end of August, more than fifty children joined staff and volunteers on the lawn of Creative Haverhill’s soon-to-be Cogswell ArtSpace for socially-distant painting sessions. These young readers and artists did a wonderful job completing this mural, and their signatures are proudly displayed on the panel they worked on. The mural was then officially completed and installed in November 2020 on Washington Street in Downtown Haverhill.
Community murals take a lot of work, and this one had many contributors outside of the youth who painted it. The mural was designed by Haverhill Promise Campaign Director and local artist Jenny Arndt in a “coloring book” style so children of all ages and abilities would be able to paint it. Creative Haverhill Director Erin Padilla and volunteers assisted with prep work, coordinating the painting sessions, and finishing the panels for installation. Placement of the mural was proposed by the local business group Haverhill.Biz as part of their initiative to enhance the grand entrance to Downtown, and the placement was secured by City Council President Melinda Barrett who obtained permission from the MBTA to install the mural on their property beneath the train trestle.
Congratulations to the Haverhill students who made reading a priority and helped this mural come to life, and to all who contributed to it!
