Helping third-graders reach success is the goal of a new effort launched by the United Way of Central Ohio.
The program called 'Success by Third Grade' is bringing together seven school districts including Columbus City Schools and community partners to address community issues that affect learning.
The effort is funded by a total of $1 million from the Columbus City Council and the Franklin County Board of Commissioners.
The United Way of Central Ohio says that third-graders who are unable to read at grade level are among the most vulnerable to dropping out of school before graduating.
"Our goal is to reduce the non-academic barriers for students, and their parents and caregivers, so that students are better prepared to learn in the classroom," said United Way CEO Lisa Courtice,
"United Way as the backbone organization for this effort is driving a process where we build coalitions in the community that work together. And we know certain things will advance success for children like attendance, like minimizing summer learning loss. So we'll be developing those strategies together, and creating those metrics together," said Courtice.
"Children who are hungry, have unstable homes or are dealing with social, emotional challenges are frequently off track academically. Much of this is due to limited access to community base support and services," said Columbus City Schools superintendent Talisa Dixon. "It recognizes that adding academic programs is not the only solution to improve reading proficiency. We must address the needs of the entire families to get more students onto a path of success."
"We have significant work ahead of us to ensure every child achieves reading proficiency by the third grade. Every child," said Columbus City Councilmember Elizabeth Brown.
The United Way of Central Ohio reports that during the 2018-2019 school year, seven out of 16 Franklin County school districts had third-grade proficiency rates under 75% and that percentage is plummeting. Experts attribute the decline to food insecurity issues and lack of access to safe, stable housing, as well as mental health issues and lack of self-efficacy, and limited access to needed support and services.
