WHEN THERE’S AN URGENT NEED, READ USA RESPONDS.
In response to COVID-19, READ USA has increased support for Title 1 elementary school students in Duval County! In the week of 3/30/2020 we provided 38,000 new books and parent engagement instructional materials to every Title 1 Elementary school student, including Head Start and ESE students. These books were transported safely by school bus, to be delivered along with meals. READ USA Responded!
As Delores Barr Weaver wrote in her March 13, 2020 letter of support, READ USA, Inc. is “an organization committed to a literate community, specifically by providing quality book access, book selection and ownership to young, eager learners that are economically disadvantaged.” She quoted in her letter: “The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home.” – The Literary Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions.
We are now coordinating with Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene and her team to engage teachers with their students in a virtual FREE Scholastic Book Fair that fills the dire need for students to have books in their home! After students choose their books, they will receive a package in the mail with their new books and a parent engagement packet to each of their homes. Can you visualize the smiles of excitement when their packages arrive?
Now, more than ever, your support is critical. For most of our children, physically touching a book will not happen until physical school resumes ... unless READ USA and YOU make it happen! In addition to the physical well-being provided by food and shelter, children need the physical brain-food represented by books. Imagine – a library of books they can share with their family at a time when families are more likely to read together than ever before.
Please consider sponsoring students for $15 each or an entire school (see the list below). If all are adopted, that’s 42,000+ students with the choice of brand new books for ownership and almost 150,000 books infused in the homes of Title 1 students at a time when it matters most!
Your help is making a difference in the lives of children and their families for a culture of literacy and lifelong learning.
READERS ARE LEADERS!
2020 Campaign
Book choice. Book ownership. It’s food for the brains of eager learners. COVID-19 has students and families at home together. The urgency and opportunity is NOW to have targeted impact!
UNDERSTANDING THE NEED
The only behavior measure that correlates significantly with reading scores is the number of books in the home. - The Literary Crisis: False Claims, Real Solutions, 1998
61% of low income homes have zero (0) books in them. - U.S. Department of Education
2/3 of 4th graders that struggle to read will end up in jail or on welfare - Write Express Corporation June 2015
1 in 4 children live below the poverty line in Duval County, higher than the state or national rates - 2016 U.S. Census Data
Over 50% of Duval public school students are living in poverty
Summer reading loss accounts for roughly 80% of the rich/poor reading achievement gap (Alexander, Entwisle, & Olsen, 2007)
75% of state prison inmates can be classified as low literate. — Rand Report: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education
Low literacy is said to be connected to over $230 billion a year in health care costs because almost half of Americans cannot read well enough to comprehend health information, incurring higher costs. — American Journal of Public Health
68% of those arrested in the U.S. are illiterate - Washington Literacy Council
2/3 of the achievement gap between higher and lower income youth can be explained by unequal access to books (Alexander et al, 2007)
“ILLITERACY….A PROBLEM THAT CAN BE SOLVED WITH BOOKS AND TEACHERS”- TRUMAN CENTER
THE IMPACT
READ USA helps to transform the lives of children in need by making brand new, high quality books available for free that students choose for book ownership and to develop a love for reading and lifelong learning.
READ USA also provides summer tutoring jobs to struggling teens in high poverty neighborhoods with training and professional tutoring and teaching support to raise the reading gains for both the teen tutors and the younger students they’ll lead.
YOUR IMPACT
Thanks to your donations and partnership, we are able to reach many children in need and the educators who serve them.
In 2019, READ USA distributed more than 50,000 books to over 16,000 students in high needs Title 1 schools and community centers in the highest poverty neighborhoods of Duval County, Florida as well as provided new books to teachers in those schools.
Our 2020 goal is to serve all students in every Duval Title 1 Elementary Schools and the community centers and early learning centers we served totaling over 42,000 students in need, 81 schools, 5 centers, with over 150,000 brand new books for their home libraries impacting the whole family as well as encouraging a culture of literacy for lifelong learning.
Together, we can turn the page on poverty by setting the next generation up for success!
“Once you learn to read, you will forever be free.” - Frederick Douglass
