reading in the USA
Literacy Crisis
Consider this fact. In the United States there are about 56.6 million students in the elementary and secondary school, and only 60 percent of kids in general education are proficient in reading. The percentage is much lower in special education where 6.7 million students are in special education with a specific learning disability with dyslexia as the most common learning disability.
Teaching our kids to read with better instruction, and helping our kids at risk of reading issues like dyslexia get the help they need before they struggle is not impossible. Reading affects everything and everyone so we need to spread the word, and share solutions with libraries, early-childhood centers, college students studying to become teachers, and enlist the help of all stakeholders in helping more kids learn to read.
Our goal is to collaborate to help solve this literacy crisis. As a first step, we are focusing on the public libraries in New York that serve over 19 million people statewide. That’s just the beginning. There are an estimated 116,867 libraries of all kinds in the United States today. Imagine what we could accomplish if we gave each of those libraries the understanding and tools to help all readers become proficient: