Local education advocates across Philadelphia made a pledge Friday to overhaul early education programs so that every child, within six years, is reading at grade level before completing third grade.

High numbers of Philadelphia students are falling behind in basic reading skills as early as third grade, according to statistics released during Friday’s press conference at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southeastern Pennsylvania in Center City.

Of 167 public elementary schools, only 10 schools had at least 75 percent of their students reading on grade level or better. The percentage of students who met the third-grade benchmark decreased to 50 percent at 61 schools and fell to 25 percent at 24 schools, according to statistics provided by the Public Citizens for Youth and Children.

Poor reading skills is the cancer that strikes our children at a very young age, said Sharmain Matlock-Turner, president and CEO of the Urban Affairs League, who announced Philadelphia would join a national grade-level reading campaign during the press conference.

Matlock-Turner attributed students’ poor academic performance on the failure of adults to give adequate attention, resources, and support their children need to perform well in school. “We have an incredible challenge,” she said.

The campaign is funded by the Barra Foundation with a $187,000 grant dedicated for planning purposes. Now through May, Philadelphia’s community of educators will review the most effective strategies and best resources to help students achieve and provide remedial help if necessary. From that point, Matlock-Turner said, stakeholders will develop an action plan that would serve as a social contract between any and all participating organizations.

Education advocates said the consequences of keeping the status-quo would be dire. Students who fall behind in third grade are less likely to graduate, less likely to attend college or enter the workforce with basic skills necessary to hold a job. They would also be ill-prepared to compete globally.

In addressing literacy skills in elementary grades, Superintendent William Hite Jr. said, “We will have gone a long way to correct some of the ills facing this city and cities across the country. This is critically important to the School District of Philadelphia and extremely important to the city of Philadelphia and, in fact, is important to our country.”

Mayor Michael Nutter said, “The ability to read is really the passport to the future. If you don’t understand certain things, you are lost in this ever complicated world.”

He forewarned that third grade literacy rates are an accurate predictor for student success in middle school and high school. But the private prison industry also uses the third grade literacy rate to project the number of jail cells needed to accommodate incarcerated populations.

“It’s not a myth. It’s true,” Nutter said.

In reviewing school performance statistics, no district-managed or privately run school in Philadelphia has had 100 percent of its students reading at grade level or better, said Ralph Smith, managing director of the nationwide campaign and lifelong Philadelphia resident who has been involved in education.

“We should be ashamed of ourselves. We should be further motivated to do something about it. This is something we can fix,” Smith said, adding that it would take an investment of time, money and focused effort.

In addition, Smith, who is also senior vice president of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, also said a country that fails to adequately educate its youngest citizens is “undeserving of leadership in the world. I’m grateful that Philadelphia accepts. The ability to read is the means for children to “defend, protect, learn and interact with the world.”

With the holiday season in full swing, Nutter suggested giving a child a book as a gift.

“I’m a much better reader thanks to my current teacher and my Boys and Girls Club,” said Yeadaliz Perez, 10, a bi-lingual student from North Philadelphia, said she struggled with pronunciation and spelling of English words but has become more skilled at reading.

“I wish every kid could have after school help, like me,” said Perez, who also thanked her teacher Jaime Marchesani at William Cramp Elementary School for her assistance.

Pennsylvania was one of six states awarded funding through the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant program on Thursday.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education announced a $51.7 million federal grant that would be used to develop early learning programs that would better prepare high needs students for academic success while increasing the number of children who are able to read and perform math at grade level.

Acting Education Secretary Carolyn Dumaresq said the state would start a process for identifying the lowest performing elementary schools from a pool of 3,000 school based on a review of school performance profiles.

Governor’s Institutes that allow educators and practitioners in pre-kindergarten through third grade to share best practices during a weeklong experience is “one of the more exciting aspects of this grant,” Dumaresq said.

The grant also supports creation of 50 Early Childhood Education Community Innovation Zones, which would go toward improving student access to high-quality early learning programs and providing professional development and tuition assistance for educators.

Eligible schools must compete for grant funding. Schools must present three bodies of work that show how early education experience aligns with kindergaretn and later grades and assists in preparing students for success. Examples would include models for community outreach that encompass wrap-around services that provide medical and dental care plus other social services. Schools will also be asked to explain how they might help parents to recognize and demand high-qualilty programs.

There would also be an emphasis on increasing family supports and developing stronger partnerships between school districts, early childhood education programs and community networks. Another part of the program is aimed at helping schools better understand the needs of kindergarten students.

The Philadelphia Tribune – December 22, 2013 – Leer artículo en línea