WS Chronicle

Reading is the civil rights issue of our time. If you can’t read this sentence, you are more likely to drop out of school, have a hard time finding a job, will likely live in poverty, and be unable to fully participate in society and the workforce.

Right now, nearly half of Forsyth County children can’t read!

READWS will host a presentation by Emily Hanford, an award-winning APM senior producer and correspondent, who is sending viral shockwaves through the educational community with her investigative reports on why our nation’s children still struggle to read. Emily will discuss the elephants in the room when it comes to how children are taught to read and share insights from the front lines on the ongoing debate about effective reading instruction.

The event will be held on Thursday, Dec. 12, 5:30-7:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 520 Summit St., in the Calhoun Room. 

Below are some alarming statistics in Forsyth County:

*Nearly half (48%) of the children in Forsyth County are not reading proficient.

*Children who are unequipped with basic reading skills at the end of third grade are at much greater risk of falling behind in school.

*74% of poor readers in third grade remain poor readers in ninth grade. In Forsyth County, proficiency rates for all students have not changed significantly over the last three years. Significant disparities exist between African American and white, non-Hispanic children and between Hispanic and white non-Hispanic children.

*However, for 90% of poor readers, early, intensive intervention can increase reading ability to an age-appropriate average skill level.

In the Triad Region (Grade 3 Statistics):

*Only half (51%) of all third grade students in the Triad can read at a third grade proficiency level.

In North Carolina (Grade 4 Statistics):

*The percentage of students in North Carolina who performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level was only 36% in 2019. That means nearly two-thirds (64%) of 4th grade students are underperforming at the proficient level!!

*The percentage of students in North Carolina who performed at or above the NAEP Basic level was 67% in 2019. One third of 4th grade students (33%) were underperforming at the basic level!!

Emily Hanford has been working in public media for more than two decades as a reporter, producer, editor, news director and program host. Her work has won numerous honors including an Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award, a Casey Medal and awards from the Education Writers Association and the Associated Press. In 2017, she won the Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award from the American Educational Research Association. Based in Washington, D.C., Hanford is a frequent speaker and moderator and host of the Ways & Means podcast. 

READWS reaches, teaches and advocates for struggling readers by training tutors, educators and parents to use the evidence-based, best practices of a multisensory structured literacy approach. They focus on students who are at an economic disadvantage.