Start Lighthouse

Lighting the Way to Literacy

As a high school English teacher in the Bronx, Rina Madhani witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of the literacy gap. Many of her students were reading at fourth- or fifth-grade levels, despite being in 10th grade. “I started spending more time just learning about early literacy intervention, which ultimately led me into elementary education, where I was an elementary school teacher for several years, again within the same community,” Rina recalls. “Prior to students even entering my classroom, they were already perceived to be behind, especially when it came to their grade reading level.”

This pervasive issue weighed on Rina, who knew she wanted to make a systemic impact. After taking an entrepreneurship class at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, Rina decided to launch her own venture to address the literacy crisis. Thus, Start Lighthouse was born.

Start Lighthouse’s mission is to rehabilitate abandoned school libraries and transform them into vibrant literacy hubs. In New York City alone, over 55% of public schools lack functioning libraries. “I was shocked to uncover the fact that there’s only one age appropriate book available per 300 children in a community like the South Bronx, which is also one of the poorest congressional districts in our entire country, compared to 13 books in the homes of their more affluent peers,” she says.

To combat this inequity, Start Lighthouse provides daily literacy programming, author and artist visits, and an annual “home library shopping experience” where students select 15 brand new multicultural books to build their own home libraries.

“Learning to read is a fundamental human right, and the stakes are high, especially when we think about closing the literacy gap,” says Madhani.

Research plays a crucial role in Start Lighthouse’s work. The organization partners with Columbia University to develop assessment tools and analyze data on student reading proficiency. “We use research to first identify the gaps and challenges that are being faced by our students to be intentional about how our programs are designed and tailored to address their needs,” Rina explains. This evidence-based approach also informs their selection of culturally relevant books and materials.

Rina credits her dedicated team as the driving force behind Start Lighthouse’s success. “I have an incredible team. Without them, this work just simply wouldn’t be possible,” she says. The organization has grown to six full-time staff members, along with site coordinators who are embedded in the school communities they serve.

Looking to the future, Rina has national aspirations for the Start Lighthouse model. “I grew up in Chicago. I’m a product of the public school system there. I’m the daughter of immigrants. I know how critical it is to have a program like Start Lighthouse in every single city across the United States, and so for me, that would be the ultimate dream and aspiration.”

Rina reflects on how transformative a program like Start Lighthouse could have been in her own educational journey. “I think about my relationship with reading. I think about how I would have viewed myself as a learner, as a leader, and just the type of messaging that I would have received about myself and my worth, and I see it every day with my students now, just how they take such pride in who they are, how they look, where they come from.” She is determined to ensure every child is proud of who they are.

By rehabilitating school libraries and providing comprehensive literacy support, Start Lighthouse is lighting the way to a more equitable future for students in New York City and beyond.