The Journey Begins

Learningmost children crucialas to they read component developand teachingof literacy every literacy skills. child’s are Reading education. challenging,aloud Thereto but yourare literacy many infant is milestoneshelps perhaps build the for family relationships and creates a strong foundation for speech skills, reading and language development. A solid foundation in reading opens doors to academic fulfillment, personal enrichment and opportunity throughout life. Third grade marks an important point in reading comprehension. Reports show children who read competently by the end of the third grade are more likely to graduate high school and go on to higher education. But only 15% of fourth graders in Los Angeles read proficiently, and an overwhelming majority of children from dual- language homes read below grade level. In recent years, California scored lower than 41 other states in reading. The effects of illiteracy are serious; it’s a sobering and well- documented fact that the rate of illiteracy among the incarcerated is much higher than in the general population. Additionally, as many as 85% of juvenile offenders have difficulty reading. The Reading by 9 program — sponsored by the Los Angeles Times in cooperation with LAUSD, First Five LA and other organizations — aims to help parents and educators enrich every child’s future with reading competency. This guide is available for free in English and Spanish and provides information on literacy resources, suggested reading materials and more. The PDF version is available at latimes.com/readingby9