Ensuring Georgia's Children Are Strong Readers

In 2011, 68% of Geor­gia’s fourth-graders were not read­ing pro­fi­cient­ly, accord­ing to the Annie E. Casey Foun­da­tion’s KIDS COUNT Data Cen­ter. With­out strong read­ing skills, these chil­dren are at risk of poor aca­d­e­m­ic out­comes, includ­ing not grad­u­at­ing from high school. Pub­lic and pri­vate lead­ers from across Geor­gia refuse to accept the sta­tus quo.

As such, they are join­ing with the Geor­gia Cam­paign for Grade-Lev­el Read­ing to devel­op a detailed action plan to get every child in the state read­ing pro­fi­cient­ly by the end of third grade. Over the next two months, lead­ers from across the state will explore the bar­ri­ers to stu­dent achieve­ment and look for oppor­tu­ni­ties to increase lit­er­a­cy levels.

The cam­paign is build­ing on statewide efforts such as Gov. Nathan Deal’s Read­ing Men­tor Ini­tia­tive, the Geor­gia Pre‑K pro­gram and the Qual­i­ty Rat­ed Improve­ment Sys­tem, as well as local efforts includ­ing Savan­nah’s Par­ent Uni­ver­si­ty and Athens/​Clarke Coun­ty’s work to close the oppor­tu­ni­ty gap between low­er- and high­er-income students.

To find out how you can par­tic­i­pate in the upcom­ing learn­ing ses­sions, con­tact the cam­paign’s Ari­anne Wel­don at aweldon@​atlantacivicsite.​org.