From The Harwood Institute & Centro Hispano
Photo courtesy of Will Francis on Unsplash
The Courageous Conversations About Our Schools podcast and The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation are pleased to announce the release of a two-part podcast series, “The Extraordinary Transformation of a City and Its Schools”, chronicling how Reading, PA — once declared the poorest community in America — is redefining its future through civic engagement, trust-building, and community collaboration.
From Crisis to Hope: A Community’s Decision to “Turn Outward”
In the wake of the pandemic, Reading faced a daunting reality: Tens of thousands of residents in poverty, a chronic absenteeism crisis in schools, an atrophied civic culture, and education culture wars sweeping across the nation.
Rather than imposing a top-down “fix,” local leaders and community members — together with The Harwood Institute — began with what many change efforts overlook: listening to people’s aspirations to find out what really mattered to them. Through hundreds of conversations in both English and Spanish, parents, students, educators, and community members shared their aspirations and concerns for their children and the community. What emerged wasn’t a list of polarized demands, but a collective and practical agenda centered on belonging, dignity, safety, and opportunity.
Part 1: Building a New Civic Culture
In Episode 1, listeners are invited into Reading at a moment of crisis — a city on the brink, its institutions fragmented, and community trust waning. What follows is a story of unexpected courage, as school district leaders, faith leaders, nonprofit organizations, and community members break down silos and begin to work together around a shared purpose. The episode captures the early days of a civic reawakening — one not driven by flashy reforms, but by honest listening and a willingness to rebuild relationships from the ground up.
Part 2: Renewed Hope Leads to Tangible Change
Episode 2 reveals how that shift in mindset produced real, systemic change. Schools welcomed back after-school programs, ESL support expanded from church basements to city-wide networks, and early-childhood education initiatives were reshaped to meet community needs on families’ own terms. Community partners — nonprofit groups, faith organizations, and civic leaders — focused on what really mattered to the people of Reading and unleashed a powerful chain reaction. The result: new trust, new support systems, and a renewed sense of hope that continues to ripple across Reading to this day.
Lessons for Other Communities
While Reading’s story is shaped by its unique history, the arc of transformation offers universal lessons: start with listening, build small wins that grow over time, stay in the conversation, and recognize that sustainable change often begins not with policy, but with people and a new civic culture. As Rich Harwood, President and Founder of The Harwood Institute, puts it near the end of the second episode: “start small to go big, build trust, and create a trajectory of hope that invites others in.”
We hope this podcast offers a source of inspiration and a practical blueprint for educators, community leaders, and civic changemakers across the country.
