The current superintendent of Columbus Municipal School District in Columbus, Mississippi, Dr. Philip Hickman is also one of six United States Department of Education National Ambassadors. During his professional career as an educator, Philip Hickman has also served as a board member of Turn the Page KC in Kansas City, Missouri.
Founded in 2011, Turn the Page KC is a program that was founded to develop third graders’ reading proficiency, which at the time was at a low of 33 percent. Due to volunteer and community efforts, by 2016 Turn the Page KC saw reading test scores rise to 52 percent.
Turn the Page KC focuses on providing early reading opportunities to low-income families, providing literacy-rich environments for children during their early years. Providing children with age-appropriate books to keep at home, the organization also introduces families to literacy programs in the community that can lay the foundation for their child’s education.