Detroit PBS Brings Early Learning Home in Milwaukee Junction

Detroit, MI (September 2026) — For Detroit PBS, being a good neighbor can mean showing up in some unexpected places.

A grocery store. A library. A barbershop. Anywhere families already gather can become a place to put books, activities and trusted learning resources into the hands of parents and children.

“We strive to meet families where they may not be looking for resources,” says Omar Hakim, Detroit PBS’s Vice President of Education.

Now Detroit PBS is becoming a neighbor in a more literal sense. As it prepares to move its headquarters to Milwaukee Junction, a grant from the Walters Family Foundation will bring its Neighborhood Model and Read, Write, ROAR! School-to-Home Connection to Milwaukee Junction and the adjacent North End. Over the 12-month grant period, the work is expected to reach approximately 100 to 125 children and families.

Early intervention is central to the work. As a former teacher and principal, Hakim has seen how children who struggle with literacy can begin to believe they simply aren’t readers. “The first five years are the most important in developing the reading brain,” he says.

That’s why Detroit PBS wants to reach children early and give the adults around them tools to help. As Hakim puts it, “a child’s ZIP code should never determine the size of their future.”

The need is stark. On state assessments, only about 38% of Michigan third graders read proficiently, and in Detroit the figure is about 14%.

Read, Write, ROAR! is a literacy program built with the Michigan Learning Channel and featuring Michigan teachers. Each participating family takes home a literacy kit with a book, hands-on activities and links to digital resources.

Teachers receive professional learning and coaching. At parent-teacher conferences, they can help caregivers find activities matched to their child’s skills and needs. Families gather for literacy nights, sometimes with Clifford the Big Red Dog or Buddy from Dinosaur Train.

“We’re not adding another resource,” Hakim says. “We’re really complementing and supplementing the work that the schools are doing.”

Two independent evaluations of Detroit PBS’s Neighborhood Model in Southwest Detroit and Brightmoor have looked beyond attendance to examine what happens when the connections among children, caregivers and educators grow stronger. Teachers have reported growth in skills such as recognizing letter sounds and phonemic awareness when parents engage in the work.

One story has stayed with Hakim: a grandparent who used Read, Write, ROAR! resources to help a child with dyslexia fill gaps the school couldn’t fully address. That child is now in middle school, Hakim says, thriving and excited about reading.

In Southwest Detroit, the materials and explainer videos are available in both English and Spanish. Hakim says families came to see their home language as an asset for learning to read, not a barrier.

In Milwaukee Junction, Detroit PBS hopes at least 70% of participating caregivers will report greater confidence supporting literacy at home.

But some impact is harder to measure.

When Detroit PBS shows up in communities with less access to educational resources, Hakim says families sometimes react with surprise: PBS is here.

“They feel seen and recognized,” he says. “An investment is being made in them.”

That sense of belonging will deepen as Detroit PBS settles into the neighborhood. For Hakim, the move is a chance to put Mister Rogers’ call to be a good neighbor into practice.

“We want to welcome folks into our new space, but we also want to stay grounded and connected to folks in their spaces,” he says. “That’s what being a good neighbor is.”