As the story time ended, a young child raised his hand to ask in a loud, clear voice, “Why did you choose this book?” His teachers watched in awe as one educator whispered to another that the child had been nonverbal just weeks ago, communicating primarily through assistive technology.

For Welcome Table Executive Director April Richard, the moment was more than a heartwarming milestone. It reflected what Freedom Schools hope to accomplish in East Austin as students return to classrooms facing academic struggles, budget cuts and continued upheaval. Through six weeks of free reading support, hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and math activities and programs for communication and community service, the nonprofit aims to give primarily low-income students of color the support and confidence they need before the school year begins.

Founded in the late 1990s and arriving in Austin in 2014, Freedom Schools has spent more than a decade serving students in East Austin, a historically under-resourced area. Many of the program’s participants are students in the Austin school district, particularly from Norman-Sims Elementary, as well as other nearby campuses, and is open to students with special needs.

As Austin ISD prepares for another school year shaped by school closures, boundary changes, state pressure to improve student performance and a $205 million budget reduction, Freedom Schools is trying to provide something many families say has become harder to find: reading support, stability and a sense of community.

“It is a pipeline that will help literacy grow and expand, especially in this East Austin area, because I know that is something that is needed, a pain point that we really need to help solve,” said Tamisha Brewer, whose daughter is a rising sixth grader at Pflugerville’s Park Crest Middle School and is attending Freedom Schools for the first time this summer.

The Austin chapter of the Freedom Schools’ six-week program serves about 60 elementary-aged students, according to the program’s 2025 report. Data collected over the past three years shows participants grew eight months in their reading skills each year they participated in the summer program, according to the program’s impact report. About 85% of students maintained or rose in their reading levels over the past three years, the report says.

Finding a home in East Austin

In 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project brought college students to help secure voting rights for Black voters. The effort included voter registration, civic rights education and engagement and Freedom Schools, which were created by local activists and young people to fill in gaps in education by focusing on reading, writing and math.

Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, participated in those efforts and later brought that vision to the organization, inspiring today’s Freedom Schools program, which began in 1995, according to Shaquite Pegues, managing director of the national Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools program.

Today, Pegues said the program addresses many of the same challenges, including limited access to affordable summer programs and learning opportunities in underserved communities.

Nationally, Freedom Schools operates seven sites in Texas and 182 across 26 states, serving nearly 12,000 students this year, Pegues said.

“Many of the issues that children were facing in 1964 in Mississippi, we are still facing many of those issues today,” Pegues said.

Lizzie Cain Clark, director of operations of Welcome Table, said members of nearby St. James Episcopal Church attended a Children’s Defense Fund visit in the early 2000s and believed the model fit East Austin’s needs. Over the next decade they formed nonprofit Welcome Table and launched Austin’s Freedom Schools program in 2014. Since then, the program has moved among East Austin schools as campuses closed or underwent improvements, most recently to Norman-Sims.

“People connected to this community see a need and we rally together to figure out very quickly, and with intention, how to fill it and that is what we try to curate in each of these classrooms,” Richard said.

At Norman-Sims, 93% of students are economically disadvantaged. The school has been under a state-mandated improvement plan since receiving “D” or “F” accountability ratings beginning in 2023. It is one of seven district campuses under state intervention within roughly three miles.

With most students qualifying for free lunch at the school, including during summer, Richard said Welcome Table also connects families with resources, including food assistance.

Building reading skills

Timesha Tibbs, project director at Austin’s Freedom School, first became involved when her son attended the program while enrolled at Norman-Sims. Although he has since aged out, her daughter now participates.

Enrollment priority goes to returning students, followed by children from Norman-Sims and neighboring schools. Most staff members are educators or education students. Tibbs, an Austin ISD teacher who formerly taught at Norman-Sims, said the program differs from a traditional classroom by giving students more choice in what they read, exposing them to books they might not otherwise encounter and allowing them to make mistakes without worrying about test scores.

Staff identify each child’s reading level and tailor lessons to help them recognize words, sound out unfamiliar ones or strengthen other reading skills.

“We are not just here for the kids, most of our program is tailored for our families, for our parents first, because if we can’t get the parents what they need, then that trickles down to the kids not getting what they need,” Tibbs said.

Tibbs said parents and teachers have reported students maintaining reading gains over the summer, including children receiving special education services who later passed standardized tests.

“We don’t make you just learn this and spit it back out,” Tibbs said “It is ‘can you process it and how are you going to make a difference with what we learned today?’”

Providing stability during change

Richard said this summer’s program has taken on added importance as students prepare for another year of change following Austin ISD’s school closures.

Over the past few weeks, Richard said, students have been talking about moving to new schools because their campus is closing or wondering why their teachers are leaving. As classrooms grow larger and resources shrink, Welcome Table is trying to provide emotional and mental health support alongside instruction.

“As adults, we sometimes talk about these things and assume that they are either not paying attention or apathetic,” Richard said. “This is their home, academically, emotionally, even when this entire community is in flux, and they appreciate that.”

Clark said staff has intentionally created space for children to process those changes, saying many students are acutely aware of the uncertainty surrounding their schools.

In partnership with the Norman-Sims community, Clark said the organization continues to look for practical ways to support the school community. From book giveaways in the school library to providing goodies for fall Trunk-or-Treat, she said the organization hopes to provide a sense of stability during a period of uncertainty.

“We cannot fix the AISD funding gap, but we want to walk with our school as they are navigating that and bring what we can to the party,” Clark said. “If we can help along the way, we want to offer that accompaniment.”