Vero’s Moonshot Story: a 20‑Minute Film That Says It All
- Vero Minute
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
Taking on early literacy at scale is one of the hardest things any community can attempt, and Indian River County has done it so well that we now serve as a national example that a moonshot for children can actually land.
On Monday, February 16 at Riverside Theatre, The Moonshot Story film premiers, and you are invited for a 20‑minute front‑row seat to that journey, followed by a conversation that brings our “we did this” story to life.
At the center of it all is Co-Founders Barbara Hammond, CEO of The Learning Alliance, and Liz Woody-Remington, Chief Academic Officer, whose 90%‑by‑third‑grade Moonshot dared this county to aim for what most places never even say out loud.
Beside her are leaders who have moved in boardrooms and national arenas—former AOL President Ray Oglethorpe, former Fortune 500 CEO David Dyer, Quail Valley Charities champion Wanda Lincoln, international executive and national security policy expert David McDonald, and Florida’s 2025 Superintendent of the Year and National Superintendent of the Year Finalist Dr. David K. Moore—all choosing, very deliberately, to put their energy behind third‑graders learning to read on time.
Since the 2018–2019 school year, the School District of Indian River County has climbed from 38th to 5th in Florida overall, now ranks 2nd in the state for third‑grade English Language Arts (ELA), 1st for learning gains among its most struggling readers, and is posting its strongest ELA performance since 2011. Today, 71% of our students are proficient in ELA, compared with 57% statewide—a gap big enough that Indian River is now cited in statewide and national coverage as a district others study when they want to see what is working. Somewhere along the way, the familiar saying “until third grade children learn to read, and after that they read to learn” stopped being a warning here and started reading like a promise our community intended to keep. The film brings that shift down to eye level—into classrooms, homes, boardrooms, and community tables where people kept choosing to stay at the work.
When the premiere ends the story moves from screen to stage. Barbara and her partners talk in real, behind‑the‑scenes terms about the near misses, course corrections, late‑night calls, and quiet decisions that never make headlines but move our children forward—ensuring audiences understand what greatness actually looks like so they can hold the goal and sustain the systems that drive it. They'll illuminate the beliefs, accountability structures, and policy frameworks needed to maintain excellence, clearing away misunderstandings and charting Florida's path as a literacy capital.
From the audience, you’ll see this success is not only just short of miraculous, but a long chain of local yeses: yes, this matters; yes, we will stay with it; yes, we can do better for our kids.
The Moonshot Story premiere is a moment for us all to feel proud, say thank you, and celebrate the fact Indian River County didn’t just talk about early literacy. We changed it, together, in a way the nation is noticing. And modeling.
Don’t miss The Moonshot Story, premiering Monday, February 16, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. at Riverside Theatre. Tickets are free and may be reserved by calling 772‑231‑6990 or emailing tickethelp@riversidetheatre.com
