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Reading Inspires is Reading Is Fundamental’s new podcast celebrating the power of books and the joy of reading. Each episode invites educators, librarians, families, authors, illustrators, and all who champion children’s literacy to explore one big question: What does reading inspire for you? Through engaging conversations and storytelling, Reading Inspires bridges the gap between research and real-world practice—showing what literacy looks and feels like in classrooms, libraries, and homes. Grounded in evidence yet open-ended in approach, this is a space for curiosity and connection. Whether you’re an educator seeking fresh ideas, a parent hoping to spark a love of reading, or simply a lifelong bookworm, you’ll find inspiration, practical insights, and stories that remind us all why reading matters—and how it changes lives.
Welcome to Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental.
I'm your host, Dr. Erin Bailey.
This podcast celebrates the power of books and the joy of reading.
In each episode, we talk with educators, librarians, families, authors, and literacy champions to explore one big question: What does reading inspire for you?
Through stories, research, and real-world experiences from classrooms, libraries, and homes, we explore what literacy looks like and why it matters.
Whether you're nurturing young readers, shaping learning spaces, or simply love a good book, we're glad you're here.
Be sure to subscribe to get the latest episode.
Let's get inspired.
Erin Bailey: Welcome, everyone.
I'm joined by Reena Madani, who is the co-founder of Start Lighthouse.
So welcome, Reena.
I'm excited to have you today
Rina Madhani: Thank you, Erin.
I'm so excited to be here
Erin Bailey: Could you start by telling us a little bit about your background and what inspired you to co-found Start Lighthouse, um, especially your experiences in childhood literacy working in the Bronx?
Rina Madhani: Yeah, absolutely.
So I would say that my path to founding Start Light House really began in the classroom.
So prior to the pandemic, I was an elementary school teacher in the Bronx, and those years that I spent in the classroom really just shaped everything that I believe about literacy.
So my students themselves were just, like, incredibly creative, funny, curious, eager to learn.
But as a classroom teacher, I also saw just the inequities that existed in my own classroom, and then also just from school to school.
And I found that my students also just had very few opportunities to really discover the joy of reading, which I believe is just incredibly important.
And one of the biggest lessons that I learned was that children don't fall in love with reading because we tell them it's important.
They fall in love with reading when they find the right book, and it really just takes that one book to ignite that joy, that spark towards reading.
And I had students in my classroom that often said, you know, "I hate reading.
I, I just don't like it.
I'm not good at it." But they were captivated when they found the right story, and oftentimes it was the story that they connected with, where they were able to see
themselves reflected, their lived experiences, their identities, and they found something that truly resonated, and I thought that was just incredibly important.
And so these are all experiences that, you know, stayed with me throughout the course of my teaching career.
But then when the pandemic hit, one of my student's parents reached out just asking for additional learning materials, resources, and the number
one thing that they needed access to during that time was access to books, and so that's what led to the founding of our organization as well.
Erin Bailey: Amazing.
And I should have mentioned in our intro, Start Lighthouse has been a partner with Reading is Fundamental.
Um, we've partnered together through our matching grant program, and that's how you and I, got connected, so we have a shared, care of providing access to books for children.
it's a little bit different program model than Reading is Fundamental's program.
Start Lighthouse takes underutilized school libraries and turns them into these vibrant literacy hubs.
So can you, for our listeners especially, can you kind of describe what a literacy hub looks like in practice, and how does it change that reading experience for students?
Because you mentioned the joy of reading, which I'm all about too.
So what does it look and feel like in these literacy hubs?
Rina Madhani: Yeah, that's a great question.
so just to provide our listeners some additional context, as our organization progressed throughout these past few years and we developed programming for students and families within New York City public schools,
we uncovered the fact that there are entirely underfunded, underutilized library spaces within the hearts of our public schools, and over 55% of New York City public schools do not have functioning school libraries.
And the number of librarians is even lower than that.
And so it's just a very startling fact to begin with.
And so our focus is really on the rehabilitation of these spaces and transforming them into these vibrant centers that can really be the anchor, the heart of a school's reading culture.
And so the space itself, we started out with a physical transformation.
So we started out by curating an exceptional inventory, and a lot of that comes through the support that we have from Reading is Fundamental.
Um, and we ensure that the space itself is welcoming.
Um, the books really reflect the identities, the interests, the experiences of the students that are entering that door.
but what makes our literacy hub special is just everything that ultimately happens inside of it.
And so we ensure that there's a full-time Starlight House educator that is staffing the space year-round.
And so we're talking about being there from 8:30 to 4:30 every single day, delivering literacy instruction for every single child within the school building.
We also lead after-school summer programming.
We invite families, caregivers into the space.
We also host authors and illustrators every single month where students can meet creatives that look like them, and just really have the experience of a story come to life.
And then also anchoring, um, the opportunity of just being able to independently read and just be able to discover a book for themselves.
and most importantly, since we're housed within a school, we have the privilege of being able to collaborate with the classroom teachers, the school leadership, the parent
coordinator, to really think about how this act of literacy can also just transcend beyond the literacy hub, beyond the walls of the classroom, and ultimately reach a child's home.
Erin Bailey: Yeah.
That's incredible.
I mean, it's, it's amazing that there are all these library spaces that were, uh, I wanna use the word, like, abandoned.
They've just … They were, they were functioning at some point, right?
But the
fact that you've been able to rebuild them and to staff them.
So there's, like, two parts here, right?
There's refreshing the library into a literacy hub because it was a space that was underutilized, but there's also a sh- shortage, maybe not a shortage of librarians, but
probably more like a shortage of funding in s- a lot of schools, not just New York, New York City schools, but, like, all over the country, a shortage in funding for librarians.
So the fact that you were able to both transform the space and put a full-time person in there is, um, incredible
Rina Madhani: Yeah, and it's ultimately removing that financial burden from our respective school partners, because to your point, I've had conversations with school administrators that are eager to have a librarian.
They want to be able to house the space.
They understand the importance of having a functioning school library, but oftentimes they may be facing multiple teaching vacancies.
And so when they look at their respective school budgets, they're making those hard decisions of, "Well, am I gonna prioritize hiring another teacher or another paraprofessional versus bringing in a
school librarian?" And so it's really unfortunate that they're being asked to make these decisions, but that's also why we're intentional about going into schools, going into communities like the South
Bronx where this problem is so prevalent, and we haven't been able to find a solution in terms of schools being able to have this functioning space, and have a school librarian, uh, without our support.
And so that's why we're there just to really be able to help fill this need and just ensure that our students in the South Bronx are growing up with the resources and opportunities that they are so rightfully entitled to as well.
Erin Bailey: Yeah, amazing.
And the other thing I heard you say, is about representation, um, really.
Like, not only in the books that you provide, but also you mentioned something about the authors and illustrators that come to visit one- once a month, I think you said, which is incredible as well.
Can you talk a little bit about, why representation is at the heart of your work, and why is it important for children to see themselves reflected in the books they read, in the authors and the illustrators that come to visit them?
Rina Madhani: Yeah, I think it's incredibly important.
I think it also just sends such a powerful message to our students, their families, their caregivers that, you know, your story is worthy of being told.
and I believe that diverse books aren't only important for children to see themselves reflected, but it also allows each child to develop empathy, and understanding of people, curiosity, especially for whose lives may be different from their own.
And we've just seen that many of our students are just more excited to read.
They're, you know, recommending books to students.
Um, they're creating their own book clubs when they found culturally responsive literature.
and especially when they see themselves in these stories, they're just so much more engaged.
And I know that once they're engaged and we hook them in that capacity, they're more likely to develop those lasting reading habits that we want to be able to cultivate
Erin Bailey: Yeah, a lot of the, you know, guests that I've spoken to have s- shared similar sentiments, and a lot have shared, you know, "When I was a kid, I loved to read, but I
would've loved it more if I had, you know, more books that represented my culture, my identity, my family structure." So it's… I, I mean, children's literature has come so far.
It ha- You know, it has further to go, but I- it's great to see that these children today have more opportunities to read books that reflect them
Rina Madhani: but I would say that similarly even for myself too, I just know that when I was growing up, I wish I had access to books that had strong South Asian and female protagonists.
And I was, a child that grew up loving Harry Potter, Magic Tree House series, and I devoured those books.
But I always was itching for stories that really connected me to my culture and my upbringing.
And I'm so happy to see that stories like these now exist, but there was certainly a gap when I was growing up
Erin Bailey: Yeah, exact- that's what I've heard so many times.
So I think the rewarding part is probably like you didn't have it, but you still loved reading, but now you get to see children who, who do have that and, and what a big impact that that makes
so the other thing, part of your program is about sustainable reading cultures within schools.
I think that's the idea of the literacy hub, is that it gets people coming back for more.
What have you learned along the way about creating these kind of long-term partnerships that continue to support literacy long after that initial investment of building this literacy hub?
Rina Madhani: For me, I realized that each school community is different.
so every principal, every teacher, each student, everyone ultimately has different strengths and needs.
And so for us as an organization, we have spent so much time just listening before we've ever started building.
And I find that we've been successful, um, over these past six years partially because we've been so anchored in the community and listening to what their needs are, rather than just making our own assumptions.
And the strongest partnerships that we, of course, have are really rooted in trust.
And so that means for us that we're showing up consistently, we're following through on our commitments, and also designing solutions alongside them rather than for them.
And for us, we're not really interested in this one-time intervention.
But with this literacy hub model, we're really looking to help schools, also systems and cultures that can continue long after the space has been established.
Um, and so we really believe that if students are, you know, still excited about reading years later, and if teachers also feel ownership of the
space, and families continue to participate in these literacy experiences, then at Start Lake House, we, we've done our job and what we set out to do
Erin Bailey: Yeah, that's incredible.
Um, so the other way that I see kind of our paths overlapping is around reading motivation, which is more than just academic achievement.
It's about joy, belonging we talked about, and reading confidence.
from your experiences so far, what are some of the most memorable moments that you've had, witnessing just the power of creating joyful and motivating reading environments?
Rina Madhani: Yeah, I would say at Start Lighthouse, I'm so lucky to be able to have those kinds of experiences every single day, um, and
just to be able to see those same transformations happen again and again across the respective school communities that we're servicing.
students always tell me that, "This is my favorite room in the entire school."
Or, I have students that come to me and ask if they, can bookshop another book, an extra book, because they wanna be able to read to their younger sibling at home.
Or they're so excited to be able to take home a book that's in Spanish because they're gonna sit down with their grandmother later that evening and be able to have her read the story back to them.
Um, and I think about how those experiences are all anchored in this notion of joy.
and even these moments, they can often seem small, but they're, they're really huge because I think it tells us that this idea of reading has really shifted from being something that children have to do to something that they actually want to do.
Um, and so as an organization, I think that's really what we're trying to create.
So yes, we're thinking about stronger, proficient readers, but also children that come to Start Lighthouse, come to Literacy Hub, and they really view this act of reading as a source of, like, joy, comfort, and also possibility too.
Erin Bailey: I love that.
It reminds me of when I first started teaching.
You know, I had taken college courses on how to teach reading.
I wasn't an expert yet, clearly, but one thing I knew in my heart was about creating an invi- inviting space to read.
And so, you know, with the, the help of my mom and other family members, went to shopping a lot to, um, secondhand stores and got some, like, cozy chairs, pillows, other things to make this really warm…
And I taught fifth grade, but they were still really into the cutesy, fluffy things, right?
This warm, welcoming reading library in my classroom, and we got a lot of great books, also secondhand, to build this space.
And I remember my students, I had a little group of students who would just stay after school and sit in that reading space, um, basically until I would kick them out at 5:00 when I had to…
when I was forced to leave the building.
But that idea of comfort, like, they felt that there, and some of them shared with me, "You know, I don't have a comfort- comfortable space to read in my home," or, "I'm, you know, I'm not re- really ready to go, back to my home or my neighborhood yet.
Can I stay?
Can I read longer?" And it's like, those are the kind of things that you can't really quantify through a reading achievement test.
Um, but it's that joy that you can feel is there
Rina Madhani: Yeah, and it's so, it's so tangible too.
and I think oftentimes, especially in the academic culture that we're surrounded by, everything is rooted in data in terms of we're l- always looking at the academic data, but there's so much to be learned from the social-emotional aspect.
Um, and I think that is something that needs to be prioritized and, you know, an area that as an organization that we're really interested in exploring further to understand, like, how do you measure that?
What does it look like?
If it is quantifiable, um, and how can that help us tell our story and really illustrate the need for the work that we do?
Erin Bailey: Yeah, absolutely.
Um, so as we look ahead, what are your hopes for the future of StartLight?
It- you mentioned at the beginning it's about, it's around six years old, if that's right.
Rina Madhani: Six years, yes
Erin Bailey: and you've shared some great advice already.
I love the advice about, listening first before you go in and, and build this space.
But what other advice would you have for educators, school leaders, other nonprofits or communities who want to strengthen the literacy opportunities and build a thriving reading community within their own schools?
Rina Madhani: Yeah, I would certainly say that, you know, building this reading culture is obviously such a big, you know, oftentimes abstract concept, but it's not something that'll happen overnight.
But it can take place, and it certainly is possible, and it can be done so through building relationships, this notion of just being consistent, and also believing that every child deserves opportunities to experience the joy of reading.
Even for us as an organization, being six years old, um, having gone from this grassroots initiative to now really operationalizing our work, we've uncovered just also the importance of partnerships as well.
So we oftentimes, we're going into schools, and yes, we're establishing these beautiful literacy hubs, but then part of that, al- work also entails us establishing close
relationships with the school leadership team, with the school's PTA, with the parent coordinator, with the classroom teachers, even the elected officials surrounding the school.
Because it really does take this multifaceted approach in terms of mobilizing all these respective stakeholders to come together to be able to establish this type of culture that we're looking to bring in for the students, uh, within the school community.
And so I think it really starts with that as well.
Um, but then also within these schools, there are other community-based organizations that are operating, and we work with a lot of these community-based organizations in the capacity of afterschool and summer programming.
So they'll bring us on as the subcontractors so that we can work alongside them.
We can provide that literacy component, the literacy enrichment, to the students that are already enrolled in their program.
And I think there's something really special about that, because there's this level of collaboration that now exists, um, between another organization like ourselves.
And we're not necessarily viewing ourselves as competitors within the school space or within the school community, but we're working together to be able to reach and service as many students and families as possible.
And because we've established these partnerships, we have a larger reach as a result
Erin Bailey: I love that so much, and it speaks a lot to me.
You know, as g- you're in your sixth year of operations, Reading Is Fundamental, we're celebrating our 60th, year as, as a organization, and I think the key is partnership.
And what you said, it's when our goal is to get books into the hands of children and inspire children to grow into lifelong readers, there is no competition.
You know, we're k- we're kind of all in this together, and that's why I've been excited to, um, work with you, and I'm, I'm glad for the cur- collaboration that we've had.
Rina Madhani: Absolutely.
I'm so grateful for that as well
Erin Bailey: Yeah.
Thank you, Rena.
Um, I always end by asking this very challenging question, which is, what does reading inspire for you?
Rina Madhani: I would say reading for me really inspires possibility.
Um, when I was a classroom teacher, I watched books help my students just become more confident learners.
And now, being this nonprofit leader, founder, I watched how books can bring entire school communities together.
And I really believe that, you know, a great book can unlock so much for a child.
It can make a child laugh, they can ask questions.
They're encouraged to dream bigger or just they feel understood.
and it can also just introduce them to worlds that they never imagined, while they can also, you know, appreciate their own story, their roots, and you know, where they've come from.
And I would say that's really the magic of reading.
Um, it just really reminds us that our stories matter and that we can learn from one another.
Um, and something as simple as just, like, the act of opening up a book and diving in can really just change how a child sees themselves and just the future that they believe is possible for them.
And I think that's really what reading does for me.
Erin Bailey: Incredible.
Thank you, Rina.
And if listeners wanna get involved with START Lighthouse, where can they go to find out more information?
Rina Madhani: Yes.
Uh, that's a great question.
Uh, you can find us at www.startlakehouse.org.
Um, and we're also on socials, so you can find us at StartLakehouse
Erin Bailey: I will be sure to include the link to your website as well as your sh- socials in the show notes for everyone.
And if something stood out to you in this episode, please share it with a family or a friend.
We would love for you to pass along the message.
And thanks, Rena
Rina Madhani: Thank you so much
Thank you for listening to Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental.
I hope today's conversation sparked new ideas, meaningful connections, and a renewed love of reading.
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, share it with a fellow literacy champion, and join us next time as we continue exploring what reading inspires