Reading more important than ever after schools’ rating drop
Literacy is not just a treasure. It is a lifelong gift.
Numerous studies consistently demonstrate that it becomes harder for students to succeed if they are not proficient in reading by the third grade. That is because during the years leading up to third grade, kids are learning read. After third grade, they are reading to learn. At that point, they are expected to be able to read math problems, comprehend directions in science, and understand social studies concepts.
According to the Children’s Reading Foundation, if a child does not pass the major reading assessment at the close of third grade, there is a 74% chance they will never catch up. In fact, one of the most important predictors of high school graduation is being able to read proficiently by the end of third grade. To that end, according to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, two-thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of the fourth grade will end up in jail or on welfare. Further, 85% of all juveniles who interface with the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, as are more than 60% of all prison inmates.
That is why the Palm Beach County School District’s recent ‘B’ rating announced by the Florida Department of Education is so alarming. According to the school district, only 54% of Palm Beach County third graders could read at grade level last year. While alarming, for our team at Roots and Wings, the news is unfortunately not surprising.
For the last seven years, our focus has been on promoting grade-level reading skills for young students and excellence in teaching to support teachers as they prepare children for the future. We work with our local public schools and teachers to build literacy programs to benefit children from all backgrounds. And we also reward teachers for their hard work.
When we started Project UpLift, our after-school reading program, we worked with 30 third graders in one school, Pine Grove Elementary in Delray Beach. Today, there are over 1,000 students in the Roots and Wings program in 13 public elementary schools around Palm Beach County, including one added in Jupiter this school year. The need for literacy programs continues to increase.
Project UpLift, which officially launched during the 2017-2018 school year, addresses this issue in the most fundamental way. It is specifically designed to help those students identified as reading one or two grades below grade level. In Project UpLift, we create small classes of 10 students or less that meet after school in the students’ same familiar classrooms. They are taught by certified teachers from their own school who know them best, using different methods of learning that are both fun and engaging. The program is free for the students, and the teachers are paid for their time — in addition to their benefits package on those hours — by Roots and Wings.
What we have witnessed over the last seven years is a cohort of students that are happy and excited to stay after school and learn — students who are excelling thanks to smaller class sizes and the opportunity for them to learn in a different way. The test scores also speak for themselves. After our first year, 94% of students participating in Project UpLift improved their scores. Since then, this positive trend has continued. Thanks to an agreement with the Palm Beach County School District, Roots and Wings is able to monitor each child’s growth.
Our program is not complicated, but it does work. We start with the basic premise that our students must show up. From there, we focus on impressing on them the idea that they can succeed and that they are in fact the engine that can create their own success. Not us, not the teachers. It is they who are responsible. And we celebrate and reward them with certificates for reading gains, T-shirts for perfect attendance, pizza parties and even bicycles and more.
We all know how important reading proficiency by the third grade is. However, we also know how important a student’s self-belief in their ability to succeed can be.
You can join us in our mission to support and encourage children’s reading skills and the teachers who inspire learning. Learn more at RootsandWingsInc. org.