Did you know that research indicates the road to incarceration begins as early as kindergarten, linking reading difficulties with serious behavior problems most commonly seen in at-risk youth? Or that children in low-income families start school at an academic disadvantage as compared to their peers that live above the poverty line? Houston is well aware of this problem with 22% of its population living in poverty, thus creating far-reaching negative consequences including lower education, reduced child development, higher crime, low social mobility, and extra social spending.
Making It Better understands these issues first hand and will continue to be vigilant in its efforts to help break the cycle of illiteracy and poverty throughout Houston. Early intervention programs coupled with leadership, life skills, and parent-specific programming are critical to level the playing field for children from low socioeconomic status and provides an opportunity for them to rise above their circumstances.
While we have made advances in combating the literacy crisis in Houston, our work won’t be done until every child who struggles to read in Houston has the opportunity to succeed.
We invite you to make a difference by partnering with us during National Read Aloud Month, set for March 2019. Due to school scheduling, Making It Better will be celebrating National Read Aloud Month from February 18th through March 8th. Reading aloud for just 15 minutes a day is critically important during a child’s earliest years of life, and the act of reading aloud is both a preventative measure and a solution for raising literacy rates to transform our city. That’s the potential and purpose of National Read Aloud Month.
Because of our amazing sponsors and readers last year, Read Aloud Month was a tremendous success:
- 36 1st and 2nd-grade classrooms at 8 partner elementary schools participated
- 758 students were read to
- 1,132 books were distributed to help build or start their home library
If you would like to join this year to help raise literacy rates, there are two ways you can participate:
1)Become a classroom sponsor for $500 per classroom to provide each child with two books to begin or build their home library.
2)Encourage employees, associates, and friends to serve as volunteer readers in any one of the nine HISD elementary schools served by Making It Better programs. Each volunteer will commit to reading once per week for three weeks from February 18th through March 8th. Volunteers will read for 30 minutes/visit to their 1st or 2nd-grade classroom on the agreed upon day and time.
Please click here to complete the Read Aloud Month form.
For more information, please contact Ashley Danna at 409.239.4573 or via email at adanna@mibtx.wpengine.com.
