The transition from third to fourth grade has long been seen as the bridge for children between "learning to read" to "reading to learn."
Unfortunately, millions of American children fail to cross this bridge on time. Missing that milestone has serious consequences for their future success in school, work, and life.
Recognizing that the performance of most American children has reached crisis proportions, business leaders, political officials, educators, nonprofits, and philanthropists are coming together in a new campaign to improve student outcomes. Launching this month, the "Campaign for Grade-Level Reading" -- spearheaded by Ralph Smith, the Executive Vice President of the The Annie E. Casey Foundation -- is an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize resources nationwide for the benefit of America's youngest and most vulnerable children.
Smith, who is working with more than 70 other funders as partners in the campaign, describes the effort as "a decade-long endeavor through which philanthropy will help secure and sustain wide-reaching commitments, resources, and actions to bring about the necessary changes."
According to Smith, the Campaign will target three core assurances:
1. Quality teaching for every child in every setting every day.
2. Locally-owned community solutions for improving school readiness, attendance, and summer learning.
3. A rational, outcomes-accountable system of care, services, and family supports for children, from birth through third grade.
This could not come at a more critical time. Our children's reading scores are appalling. Two out of every three children (67 percent) cannot read proficiently, according to the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading test. The statistics are even more alarming for Black, Latino and poor white students -- more than 80 percent of these students failed to score proficiently on the reading test.
Over the last five decades, there's been a lot of talk about fixing our nation's education system, but there has been no improvement in our children's test scores. This campaign has already proven that it's more than just talk. It's joining influential leaders and groups -- and their dollars, resources, access to kids, and clout -- to effect actual change. This is the movement we've been waiting for.
Far too often, nonprofits, educators and community members discuss reforming the system, but lack the resources to transform their ideas into reality. At the same time, philanthropists and foundations have the dollars to create positive change, but lack the infrastructure and access to implement.
For the first time, foundations, national organizations, community members and business leaders with a shared desire to improve outcomes for kids are coming together in a coordinated attack. It's exciting to watch this movement unfold, which builds on the growing body of evidence that shows how important it is to invest in children in the critical years between birth and the third grade.
Reach Out and Read is proud to be part of this campaign. We are proud to stand next to others who are no longer willing to sit silently on the sidelines and watch what is happening to children in our country, to our future.
Ensuring children arrive at school ready to learn, increasing student attendance, and supporting high quality summer learning opportunities are some of the most important things our nation can do to reform our education system and positively impact the lives of all children.
This launch of this campaign is a giant first step in the right direction.
For more on the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, click here.