- This month on The Spark, our theme is "Moving our Community Forward.

We'll learn more about a nonprofit focused on dramatically increasing literacy and education equity throughout our Memphis community.

An organization inspiring and empowering youth to take control of their academic success and the public transportation provider for the Memphis area, with growing on-demand services.

We'll also share a special moment from our Spark Awards, 2021.

- From our very   beginnings in 1954,   Lipscomb and Pitts   insurance has been built   on the values of   customer service,   leading with integrity and   supporting our community.

We believe in promoting   the positives,   encouraging engagement,   and leading by example,   to power of the good.

Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The Spark.

- (male announcer)   Additional funding   for The Spark   is provided by Meritan,   United Way of the Mid-South,   My Town Movers, My Town   Roofing, My Town Miracles   and by SRVS.

- Ever been excited   by a new idea,   inspired by watching   someone lead by example.

When we talk about   creating change,   we start by sharing the   stories of everyday heroes,   who are making a difference   in their own way,   so we can learn   and do the same.

I'm Jeremy Park,   and this is The Spark.

They're a nonprofit focused on literacy and equity.

We're here with the executive director and the founder of AllMemphis, Dr. Krista Johnson.

And, let's start out, give us a little bit of your personal background, and what led you to launch and start AllMemphis.

- Yes, I would love to.

First of all, thank you for this opportunity.

It's wonderful to be here.

So, I moved to Memphis in 2010 through a series of events.

And, when I came here, I was focused primarily in private practice in the private... private school sector.

But, at that time, there was a lot going on in public school with the dean merger, or the merger of Memphis City Schools, Shelby County Schools, and then the subsequent de merger in the municipalities.

And, so, it was really hard to escape the climate of what was going on in public education.

And, I really looked at myself and thought about where I was professionally and wanted to really get more involved with reaching more students.

And, so, I had an opportunity in 2017 to start AllMemphis.

And, here we are, four and a half years later.

- Talk about the model, because you're working with teachers.

There's a proven foundation for what you do.

So, give us the model.

- Yeah, so at AllMemphis, we really... We're a literacy organization.

And, so, when we think about our vision of a fully literate community, we trace backwards from there.

And, we think, where can we make the most impact?

And, the grim statistics are about 86% of students are not reading on grade level in third grade.

And, so, reaching 86% of students as a small organization is impossible.

And, so, what we do is we work with teachers.

We wanted to increase the excellence of the knowledge base, the ability to deliver excellent literacy instruction in the classroom.

So, the model that we use   is working with teachers,   we partner with schools,   work with teachers,   train them, mentor   them, coach them   in an Orton-Gillingham   approach.

So, Orton-Gillingham is   an approach to reading,   which is sort of the gold   standard of reading remediation   And, it uses a   multisensory approach   and students that are   struggling to read   really need to rely on   multiple sources of input   to solidify that ability   to recognize letters,   blend letters together,   to read words,   separate letters in   order to spell words.

And, so, that's the approach that we use in AllMemphis with our curriculum Ditto Literacy.

- Talk about the age ranges and the grades that you and your teachers work with.

- Yeah, so when we think about foundational literacy, typically, phonics is taught in grades kindergarten through second grade.

And, so, the spectrum of skills that AllMemphis really focuses on are focused in that area, but we don't like to attach an age or a grade range   to what we do,   because the reality is   there are a lot of students   in eighth grade and beyond   that are still struggling   with foundational literacy.

And, so, we really encouraged   the schools that we work with   to look at their data,   and say, which of these   students still need gaps   to be filled in that   foundational component   of literacy?

And, those are the teachers   that we work diligently with   to try to be able to   work with their students,   give their students the   pieces that they need to fill in the holes, so that they can become a better reader.

- What makes you excited?

What are some words of encouragement for 2022 and beyond, for AllMemphis, and what you're doing for the larger community?

- There's so much to look forward to.

The pandemic was hard for everyone in every sort of sector of life, but I think there's always a silver lining, and I think that, what's really opened up in classrooms, so technology has really opened up.

Technology will give organizations, like AllMemphis, better and more direct access to reaching teachers.

Also, there's a renewed focus and awareness of what needs to happen in education.

And, so, more people are getting involved, more money from the federal state county community level is being given to education.

And, these students are ultimately gonna benefit from that, by being able to engage organizations like AllMemphis, to help cultivate the experience that they need to be successful.

- How can the community help your efforts?

- Well, the community can help the efforts by getting involved.

There are a ton of nonprofits here in Memphis that are all doing really great work, and I would encourage the community to get out there and understand what all those organizations are doing.

For AllMemphis, in particular, understanding what's going on politically, educating yourselves on the people that you're about to vote for.

What does education look like?

Because, even for families   that choose a different   educational path   for their student,   other than public education,   that matters to the   community of Memphis.

So, really just being involved   in the community of education.

And, then, obviously   I would be remiss   if I didn't say, also, put   your money where your mouth is.

If education is an   important piece to you,   I would encourage people   to get on our website,   allmemphis.org,   and click that donate button,   and really become   part of the solution.

- Wrap up with where do we go?

So, website, social media, where can we go to learn more and get involved with AllMemphis?

- Yeah, so we are on Facebook, Instagram.

You can just search AllMemphis, our website, allmemphis.org.

Look on LinkedIn.

We're also about to launch a curriculum software called Ditto Literacy.

So, you can get more information from us on dittoliteracy.com.

- Well, absolutely love everything you're doing.

Greatly appreciate you coming on the show.

- I greatly appreciate being here.

Thanks so much, Jeremy.

[upbeat music] - They're an organization inspiring and empowering youth to take control of their academic success.

We're here with the CEO of Peer Power Foundation, Tabitha Glenn, let's start out, Tabitha, give us a little backstory, a little history for Peer Power Foundation.

- Yeah, Jeremy, thanks so much.

Really, really appreciate the opportunity to be visiting with you today.

As you know, Peer Power is a 17-year organization.

Most people don't know that.

We're 17 years old, founded by our late founder, Charlie McVean.

And, our purpose is to help students achieve their full success.

It's a high dosage, peer   to peer tutoring model,   which has been deployed across   Memphis in several schools   throughout the years.

And, basically, we   are very different   when it comes to tutoring,   because we are in class   with the teachers   and the students.

And, so we are an extension of the teacher.

- Talk about how the magic works, because you work with the University of Memphis.

You have college students that are success coaches, they go into the classroom.

So, dive into the model.

- Absolutely, the model was formed several years ago when we really found out that it was a win-win for everybody involved.

When you think about it,   we hire high performing   students that you've mentioned,   we call success coaches,   because they help their peers   that they tutor in all aspects   of their academic journey.

And, they also   serve as mentors.

So, we found out very   quickly that a partnership   with the University of   Memphis made sense, right?

Students at the   University of Memphis   are looking for part-time work   to help support   their education.

And, so, Peer Power   provides that.

Peer Power also   provides academic credit   an internship   credit, if you will,   and is helping to   reduce that student debt   that students may face.

Having our success   coaches in the classroom   also helps the teachers.

If you think about it,   a teacher could be looking at   a class of 30-plus students.

So, the teacher is   often only able to focus   on probably what I would call   the core of the classroom,   the students who are...   Who are following   along the lesson.

So, the students who are   probably underwhelmed   with whatever's going on,   are actually high performers,   are often not able to get   individualized attention.

And, the students who may be struggling with the content often do not get individualized attention, just because of the ratio there.

We put a success coach in with a teacher, perhaps two success coaches.

And, now we're looking at a 10-1 ratio, which allows all students to perform and engage in the classroom.

- One of the things that I like is the fact that the students then get to see themselves in the success coaches, eyes where they realize, wait, I can go to college.

I can be like them.

They're not that much older, and yet they're coming in and they're pouring into me, and so there's a mentorship component, a role model.

There's also an opportunity for them to see themselves in college, having success, as you mentioned, it helps the teachers, it helps the students.

So, I look at it as all the way around, it's a win-win-win for everybody.

What are some of the things that the testimonials, the success statistics, that are coming back on your end to show that, hey, this is working?

- Right, over the past 17 years, we have tutored more than 35,000 kids.

During that time, we have hired about 1,800 high performing students to be those tutors, and we've trained them up, and we've given them professional development experience.

In addition, we've also helped with teacher retention, because we've reduced some of that stress and strain that is on the teacher.

Principles love Peer Power, because our team gets in there, we work with the principals, we work with the teachers, figure out what their goals are, align the content that we are tutoring on to end of course testing, ACT prep, et cetera.

And, so, over the years, we've seen our eight...

The kids who go through our ACT prep program, their scores increase by more than three points, which often means a difference in a scholarship, not only acceptance, but a difference in a scholarship.

We've seen increased graduation rates, increased attendance rates.

And, in addition to college acceptance, we are also seeing a readiness for trade or technical vocation, if you will.

So, we're helping kids get prepared for those immediate careers, right after college.

It's just a fantastic and amazing program.

- You have a number of special events in ways that the public can engage and support your efforts.

How can the community help?

- Yeah, of course you can go online and check us out at www.peerpowerfoundation.org.

We also have ACT Prep University that happens four times a year.

It is free to students.

So, a student can sign up with that.

And, then, we have our Big River Crossing Marathon and half marathon that just happened this past November, which we've had our largest attendance ever at that thing, thanks to partners like you, helping us get the word out.

So, yeah, just every dollar counts, Jeremy.

Most people think education that's, given the past year and a half, that the students have faced, the disruption of the pandemic, and even though we're back in the classroom, we're still facing constant disruptions, right?

And, most people think that that large dollar amounts are needed, but every dollar counts.

If everyone that lived in Shelby County would give us a dollar, we would be able to afford to go into all schools.

Right now, we're tutoring 10,000 kids.

If we get a dollar from everybody, right here, in Shelby County, we could help every child in Shelby County, which, if you think about it, we've got 110,000 kids who are eager to learn and grow.

And, Peer Power wants to be there to help them.

- We'll wrap up with contact information, website, social media.

Where do we go to learn more and to get involved with Peer Power Foundation?

- Yeah, we are on all of the socials, the Twitters, the Facebooks, the Instas, and LinkedIn.

Just Google Peer Power.

It's all Peer Power Foundation.

And, the website is www.peerpowerfoundation.org.

So, we're hoping everybody will tune in, friend us, like us, and keep up with what's going on with education in Memphis.

- Well, greatly appreciate all you and your amazing team are doing.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Absolutely, thank you, Jeremy.

[upbeat music] - The Spark Awards annually recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the community.

The 2021 recipient of the   Individual Youth Award   is Briarcrest student   Miller Manguno.

- My name is Miller Manguno.

I am a senior at Briarcrest.

I played football, and I play lacrosse, and I really enjoy doing both of those.

And, I'm also the leader of the nonprofit organization, Operation Orange Haven.

My sophomore year, I had to go   on our mission one eight day,   which is kind of like the   Briarcrest day of service.

And, we actually ended up   going to Orange Mountain,   and so I got to witness   the community there,   but also kind of the hunger   strike that they have.

And, it really,   really impacted me.

And, so I talked to   my parents about it   and they linked me with   one of their old friends   who works with the organization   titled Mosaic Memphis.

And, so, we have both   partnered together   with the Briarcrest   Wilson Society   to donate food   and other supplies   directly towards   Orange Mountain.

It just started as a required   project for the service club, Wilson Society.

And, everyone has   to bring in 10 cans   and one big thing   of peanut butter,   because that's what they say   is the most important thing   for them.

But, when COVID hit, we were a little confused on exactly how to operate, but we reached out through Facebook, and Instagram, and all social media platforms, and urged people to see if they would drop things off safely to our doorstep.

And, that way we could still keep the process going on.

It felt like every day there   was another just gigantic case   of food items or any   of those type of things   that would just   arrive at my doorstep.

And, people were   generous enough   to donate money as well   directly towards   the organization.

And, it was really   great for them to see.

And, it was really,   really great for the...

Especially for the people,   considering they   really needed that   during such a tough time.

So, now, we have our weekly   or actually biweekly donations   of the cans and   the peanut butter,   but we also have   some other projects   that we have kind   of included with it.

One titled Helpful Hampers,   which is we bring   in cleaning supplies   and other laundry supplies.

And, right now, we're in the   process of inventing a new one,   titled Make a Bed,   where we build bunk beds   and get sheets and   linens for them,   in order for them to stay   clean as much as possible.

I think my favorite experience   was the first time I went   down to Mosaic Memphis,   and dropped off a   bunch of new things,   a bunch of new supplies.

And, I got to talk   with the people there   and it shows you how truly   appreciating they are   for every tiny little thing.

And, it truly meant   the most to me.

- They're the public transportation provider for the Memphis area.

We're here with the Chief of Staff with Memphis Area Transit Authority, MATA, Bacarra Mauldin.

And, Bacarra, start out, give us a little bit, when you talk about MATA, and describe MATA overall with some stats and numbers, give us a little bit of an overview for MATA.

- Well, MATA is the public transportation provider, as you said, for the city of Memphis and all around the Memphis, the greater Memphis region.

We have about 525 employees.

We run fixed route service,   paratransit service.

We have two new on   demand services as well   as we operate the   trolley service.

And, so we want to be known   as all things mobility for the greater Memphis region.

- Let's dive in, because you have growth, tremendous growth, in the on-demand services.

So, talk about the on-demand services in terms of what they are, and then we'll talk about the future and where you're heading.

- Sure, let me give you a little background and a lot of the planning activities that go on are all based on the transit vision, which was passed by the city of Memphis a few years ago.

And, so, in that vision, that comprehensive plan for mobility and transportation, it called for the use of alternative transportation modes to kind of supplement what we're doing with the fixed route service.

And, so, part of those alternative transit services are our community circulators, as well as on demand and micro-transit.

So, what we've branched off into lately is the on-demand micro-transit type of service that you see, and the two new lines of service that we're offering, one is Groove, and the other is Ready by MATA.

And, so, Groove, of course, is more of the downtown area medical district.

We now serve President's Island and New Chicago as of November.

It's a partnership with the Downtown Memphis Commission, as well as the Medical District.

And, it's really to help get people around in those areas that I mentioned.

It's operated by Via and we, in partnership with us, and it's really had steady, steady growth that we're really encouraged by, especially the President's Island service that they recently asked us to expand to.

Now, our explosive growth has actually been   in the Ready by MATA service.

That is the on-demand service   that is in three zones,   but we've had explosive   growth in the White Haven zone   that we have covered.

And, really,   I think we're up to about   19,000 boardings right now, as of yesterday, in fact.

Our second zone is the Northaven Frayser zone, and the third zone is a new, brand new zone in Cordova.

So, we're seeing steady growth in zone two and zone three, but zone one has just been explosive.

And, we're really excited about that.

And, you may be asking yourself, what exactly is on demand service?

Unlike a fixed route transit service, where you go to a set bus stop, and you wait for the bus to come and picks you up, and it takes you along a certain guided route, if you will, on demand service, it gives you more flexibility, more freedom, where you can go onto our website or you can call our offices.

You can have them pick you up for wherever you are directly.

Usually, we try to say the turnaround is about 20 minutes or so, which is much better than our fixed route headways.

And, then, it takes you anywhere within that zone.

For instance, if you're in the Whitehaven community and you sign up for our Ready service, you give us a call, you want us to pick... Be at, for instance, if I want to be picked up from my house, and I want to go to the local grocery store within that area, it'll take me from my house directly to the grocery store.

And, then, of course I would have to call them back and they pick me up and take me back home.

Now, if I wanted to go somewhere outside of the zone, no problem.

It would still take you to the fastest connection point where you can pick up the fixed route service and be on your way to your destination.

So, it's really a great deal for the communities that have it.

We're hoping to be able to expand to more areas in the future, because we're just really, really encouraged by the explosive growth.

It's really the best form of public transportation, I believe, that you can get actually.

- Yeah, and I think that's why it's so important to highlight it, because this is the future.

Talk about the goal of being able to connect people in terms of where they need to go, and people think, work, but it's so much more than work.

When you talk about how you connect everyone to the community, talk about the main goals and where you're connecting everyone in the larger scheme of things.

- Well, the goal is to be able to connect people to where they live, they work, and they play.

I mean, in cities outside of Memphis, you actually see property values skyrocket, for properties that are adjacent to public transit lines.

And, that's the mentality   that we're working   to usher in here in Memphis.

We've got a BRT   project going on,   which is Bus Rapid Transit,   where we're gonna be moving   people up and down Union   and through downtown   with 10 minute headways.

And, so as we do that,   we've already seen   almost a billion dollars   in economic development   with people who are   trying to get along   where our BRT   routes are proposed.

So, again, transit is not just to get people to work.

It's to take you wherever you live, wherever you work, wherever you play.

Transit is really...

I refer to the mobility system as the veins of the community, just like you have veins in your body.

The transit network, they're the veins of the community.

So, it's all about the flow and the connectivity.

- So, what's something new or exciting, for 2022 and beyond, what's something new or exciting that you want to share?

- Well, thanks for asking.

There is so much going on here at MATA.

We are rolling out a next generation fare payment system that will allow us to take cashless payments to another level.

It will allow us to do a couple of things.

It will revolutionize the way that we handle fare payments that'll continue to keep our customers safe, it'll minimize the contact with our operators.

It will also give us the opportunity to work with community organizations, to possibly come up with fare discounts and things to reach those that may not necessarily have access to public transportation.

And, so, we're really excited about leveling the playing field.

We tend to talk about all the bells, and the whistles, and all of that kind of stuff, but really when you break it down, it's about serving everyone in the community.

And, this next...

This next generation fare payment system will allow us to do just that.

Now, we're also rolling in a CAD-AVL system, which will allow us to be able to track the buses and will allow our customers to be able to go onto our Go 901 app, and be able to see exactly where their bus is, so that they can plan their trips appropriately,   and based on where   our buses are,   and what time they're coming.

And, they will know exactly   when the bus is coming,   which is a really big deal.

And, so, that will help   us to be more efficient.

That will help our customers   to be able to travel   more efficiently.

And, so, and that's just   the tip of the iceberg,   because we really are on the   leading edge of technology.

It's all about trying to make our riders experience better and better.

And, we are working so hard as a team to do that.

- We'll wrap up with contact information, website, where do we go to learn more about the on-demand services and all the good going on with MATA?

- Go to www.matatransit.com.

- Well, I greatly appreciate everything you and your amazing team are doing.

Thank you for coming on the show.

- Thank you so much for having us.

And, we look forward to coming back and talking about all the other great stuff we've got going on.

[upbeat music] - It's hard to believe that we're now in our 10th season and year with The Spark.

Looking back, it's been an honor and privilege to highlight hundreds of organizations and individuals who are leading by example and fueling positive change for our city.

Now, when we talked about moving our community forward, it starts with education, increasing access to support services and resources, a focus on equity, innovation, and collaboration, just as we saw in this month's episode.

We're fortunate to have organizations like AllMemphis to empower teachers and literacy coaches with the skills necessary to meet the unique learning needs of our youth.

And, Peer Power Foundation to recruit and train success coaches, to tutor in public school classrooms, and mentor high school students to inspire and empower them to take control of their academic success.

We're fortunate to be able to leverage technology and innovation like MATA is doing with their on demand services, which create more flexible options for our citizens and better connect our community and opportunities.

Moving our community forward takes all of us doing our part.

It takes all of us being a spark.

So, thank you for watching and your continued support of The Spark.

To learn more about each of the guests, to watch past episodes, and to share your stories of others leading by example, visit wkno.org, and click on the link for The Spark.

We look forward to seeing you next month, and we hope that you'll continue joining with us to create a spark for the Mid-South.

- From our very   beginnings, in 1954,   Lipscomb and Pitts   Insurance has been built   on the values of   customer service,   leading with integrity,   and supporting our community.

We believe in promoting   the positives,   encouraging engagement,   and leading by example   to power the good.

Lipscomb and Pitts Insurance is honored to be a presenting sponsor of The Spark [upbeat music] [acoustic guitar chords]