As a former teacher, it’s always interesting to hear about organizations that are doing a stellar job working with students. One organization that has recently taken a bright spotlight is Early Reading Matters. Based in New York City, the nonprofit’s mission is “to develop and retain great teachers, and measurably increase their ability to give students in urban public schools an excellent education.” Their specialty is helping to get kids reading by the third grade benchmark.
A study funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that students who are falling behind in reading skills by grade three are four times less likely to graduate from high school. Early Reading Matters focuses on helping kids strengthen reading skills at the early, crucial ages with the plan that early investments have the best returns. The outcomes are absolutely measurable, and the methods that are applied are working.
One of the findings in the poorer, city schools is that many of the teachers are new and sometimes lack the experience, skills, and support structure that it takes in order to teach reading effectively to the students of this age. Teaching Reading Matters focuses on school-level change, which means that they provide literacy coaches to the teachers and students for three years.
The nonprofit reports that since beginning the program, schools have measured a 50% increase in students reading at grade level by second grade. Placing the extra support, structure, and resources into these schools has shown to be effective. Early Reading Matters is funded through a combination of money from the public, through foundations, and private individuals. The coverage for this organization is impressive. They have reached nearly 80,000 students in 200 schools. Their budget is about $6 million. This nonprofit is recognized as a real change agent for education.