Our Children This Month, October 2022

Supporting Reading Success: Community-based Contributions

"It's Alarming: Children Are Severely Behind in Reading" read a recent New York Times headline reporting on a cluster of new studies showing that about a third of America’s youngest learners are missing reading benchmarks. These numbers are up significantly from pre-pandemic measures with black, brown, low-income, foster care, English Language Learners and children with disabilities faring the worst. This data is disturbing in its long-term implications. Every year, over 1.2 million children drop out of school in the United States. Even prior to the pandemic, Fresno was struggling with dropouts. According to the California Department of Education, in the 2018-19 school year Fresno High had a 12.7% dropout rate compared to the previous year’s 6.3%. The consequences are dire for children who fail to graduate from high school setting them on a lifelong path of limited employment prospects, low wages, poverty, and–far to often–crime. One key driver of these grim dropout statistics is failure in learning to read.