A New Masonic Literacy Program Brings Farsi Books to West Sacramento

Masonic Literacy Program BRINGS FARSI BOOKS TO WEST SACRAMENTO

A NOVEL Partnership between California Masons and its educational partners GIVES NEWLY SETTLED AFGHAN CHILDREN A LEG UP ON LITERACY SKILLS.

By Ian A Stewart

It’s Faizah’s first day of school, and her elder sister Asiya’s first day wearing a hijab. As their classmates mock Asiya for her scarf, the sisters are reminded of their mother’s strength, their family’s bond, and what the hijab stands for. So goes the children’s book The Proudest Blue, by Ibtihaj Mujammad. It’s a simple and touching story. And now it’s one that school officials in West Sacramento, not to mention the Masons of California and their literacy partners, hope will inspire a whole new cohort of schoolchildren.

This September, the California Masonic Foundation announced an expansion of its children’s literacy program, through which bags of dual-language Farsi and English books will be provided to students in the Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento.

Sacramento County is home to the largest enclave of native Afghans in the country, with an estimated 12,000 people in the capital city and its immediate suburbs. Many arrived as refugees following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Kabul in 2021.

Despite the city’s large Afghan population, newcomers face enormous challenges upon arriving stateside. It’s estimated that 50 percent of Afghan immigrants in Sacramento live in poverty, compared with just 12 percent of the overall population, and as a group, they have a median household income of around $28,000. Nationally, only 50 percent of Afghans age five and up speak adequate English, lower than other immigrant groups. Just 6 percent speak English as a first language at home, according to the Migration Policy Institute.

The lack of English skills is compounded by a dearth of bilingual books in Farsi and English, says Michelle Torgerson, president and CEO of Raising a Reader. Seizing on that opportunity, the California Masonic Foundation and Raising a Reader teamed up with the school district to introduce their family reading program to 50 kindergarten and transitional kindergarten classrooms in the district. Among the books the children are able to take home are 10 new Farsi-translated titles, including The Proudest Blue.

In addition to the books, the bags include guides for parents to help test their children’s comprehension. “It’s about helping children fall in love with reading,” Torgerson says.

That’s important in any language: Studies show that fifth-grade reading comprehension is closely tied to high school graduation rates. “We know that reading aloud to a child is the single most important thing a parent can do to instill the importance of reading,” she says.

For the Masons, the project has a personal element. Past Grand Master G. Sean Metroka, who helped lead the initiative, was in the Marines for 32 years, largely as an artillery officer, during which he served in Iraq, Bahrain, and Kuwait. Having worked closely with civilian translators and other support personnel in the Middle East, he was deeply moved by the opportunity to support those who resettled in California. “This new phase in the Raising a Reader program is an important step in fulfilling the promise of a better life for our immigrants,” Metroka says. “We’re proving by our actions that we are committed to improving literacy for all members of our society, regardless of their origin or native language.”

Above: School kids at Riverbank K-8 school in West Sacramento check out new Farsi and English books.