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UNITED WAY READ TO SUCCEED PROGRAM RESULTS IN NEAR-PERFECT READINESS THREE YEARS IN A ROW
July 29, 2011NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 29, 2011—Although the first day of school is still nearly two weeks away, 204 new kindergartners in some of Nashville’s toughest neighborhoods are ready to read.
For the first time since the program was launched seven years ago, 99% of participants in United Way of Metropolitan Nashville’s Read to Succeed program enter kindergarten with the basic reading skills needed to make a successful scholastic start, Margaret Dolan, United Way’s Board Chair, announced today. At the beginning of the reading program, only 33% of pre-school children were ready for school.
That follows two consecutive years where more than 98 percent of participants in the Read to Succeed program entered kindergarten with the basic reading skills needed to make a successful scholastic start.
Of third grade students enrolled in Metro schools, who participated in the Read to Succeed program, 75% tested ‘proficient or advanced’ in reading and language at the end of the most recently reported school year, with 66% scoring better than their peers. Dolan emphasized that children who begin kindergarten without basic reading skills are three to four times more likely to drop out before they graduate.
Read to Succeed is designed to help children develop and master critical pre-reading skills such as vocabulary, phonics, knowledge of the alphabet, and basic principles like understanding that you read a book from left to right and top to bottom.
US Census data indicates there are approximately 7,300 low-income preschool children in Davidson County, more than 1,200 of whom are enrolled in Read to Succeed. Experience has shown that many children from low-income families do not gain the proper skills prior to school, often because their parents lack a strong educational background themselves.
Through the Read to Succeed program, 80 specially-trained reading teachers equipped with age-appropriate books, writing materials and computers work with pre-schoolers for up to two years.
“If a child is ready to read when they enter kindergarten, their chances of finishing school and getting a job when they graduate from high school or college increase dramatically. When this happens, they have a far better chance to become one less drug, crime, prison or homeless statistic and one more success story in society,” Dolan said.
In the 2010-2011 school year, the Read to Succeed program expanded by more than 10 percent adding two new sites for a total of 14. United Way’s goal is to sustain all existing sites while opening two new sites every year in targeted communities in coming years.
This fall, United Way is opening its newest site at Edgehill Center, which will serve about 60 children in three classrooms. In addition, the Read to Succeed program will continue its state-of-the-art curriculum called Frog Street that boosts literacy skills and strengthens social aptitudes.
Sites currently offering Read to Succeed:
Participating Centers Areas Served
Bethlehem Centers of Nashville North Nashville
Eighteenth Avenue Family Enrichment Center North Nashville
Fannie Battle Day Home for Children East Nashville
First Steps Special Needs Citywide
Grace M. Eaton Childcare Center North Nashville
King’s Daughters Child Development Center Madison
Martha O’Bryan Center East Nashville/Cayce Homes
McNeilly Center/Nashville Child Center East Nashville & Inglewood
St. Luke’s Community Center Northwest Nashville/Centennial Blvd
St. Mary Villa/Lady of Guadalupe West Nashville & Woodbine
Wayne Reed Child Care Center Lafayette Street/Napier Homes
Edgehill Center Edgehill
More than 1,080 children have finished the program over the past seven years. The program now operates 38 classrooms with an average of 20 children per classroom.
The results announcement was part of Stuff the Bus, United Way’s July Day of Action. More than 200 volunteers were on hand to sort and load school supplies for delivery to 48 United Way partner agencies. The school supplies will equip the youth of Nashville’s neighborhoods for success in the classroom. Families who wish to take advantage of the school supplies can find the list of agencies on United Way’s website at www.unitedwaynashville.org/calendar/event/stuffthebusdelivery.
