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(CHALKBEAT INDIANA) — At Moorhead Community Resource Center, kids waiting for a haircut are able to get help improving their reading skills.

Elisha Smith, a community center volunteer and parent of two students in Warren Township, partnered with Barbershop and Books after graduating from the Freedom Readers Fellowship. The program trains Indianapolis-area parents and community members in literacy and prepares them to work in schools.

Smith, who wanted to use the skills she got through the fellowship, now does small-group literacy work with students while they wait for a trim.

The Freedom Readers Fellowship’s goal is to provide participants with a 16-week boot camp in the science of r

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