The Literacy Challenge

By: Bill Halamandaris, Chairman and Co-Founder, The Heart of America Foundation

Reading is the keystone skill, the foundation of a successful life.

The statistics reinforcing this point and the consequences of illiteracy are staggering:

• Fifty percent of the nation’s chronically unemployed are not functionally literate. Forty three percent of adults at the lowest level of literacy proficiency live in poverty compared with four percent of adults with strong literacy skills.
• More than one million children drop out of school each year, costing the nation over $240 billion in lost earnings, forgone tax revenues, and expenditures for social services.
• Seventy-five percent of school dropouts have reading problems.
• Children in the poorest families are six times as likely as children in more affluent families to drop out of school, creating a vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy.
• Eighty-five percent of all juveniles who encounter the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate, as are 70 percent of all prison inmates.
• So strong is the link between literacy and being a useful member of society that many states consider fourth grade-level reading statistics in projecting future prison construction.

So, if the literacy challenge is that compelling, what do we do about it? A problem of this depth and dimension does not yield to simple solutions.

Read the rest of the article here.

About the above article: The Community Affairs Council is launching a new article series which will feature a monthly article on a literacy topic authored by one of our community partners and/or literacy-focused organizations in the DC area.

Fall Back in Love with JLW Shops!

The leaves are changing. Fall is in the air. And I can’t get enough pumpkin treats or college football.

This Saturday, the Tory Burch boutique at Tysons Galleria will help you update your fall wardrobe while helping the Junior League of Washington raise money! From noon to 3 pm, JLW members and their guests save 10% on most purchases and Tyson Galleria’s Tory Burch will donate 10% of the event’s proceeds right back to the League.

If you want to add a splash of Tory’s fall favorite: dark green this season, or give your weekend wardrobe an update, you can shop knowing ten percent of the proceeds enable the JLW to provide grants and volunteer resources to community partner organizations focusing on the complex issue of literacy in the greater Washington, DC area.

JLW members: Register yourself and your guests from your member home page or at www.jlw.org.

Feeling chilly? Check out the cozy new arrivals from Tory Burch – blazer-inspired jacket, plaid skirt, and peacoat – sure to keep you toasty. Then, register and attend the JLW Shops! at Tory Burch Tysons Galleria from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 13, to support childhood and adult literacy in the DC area.

To Raise a Reader: Sing, Talk and Read

By: Micky Freeny from D.C. Public Library

Much has been written and discussed in the media about the quality of formal education in America, and specifically in the City of Washington, DC. We hold schools and teachers accountable for the reading success—and failure—of our children. However, until more children start school ready to learn to read, our schools will not achieve the results we want or expect. Until we show parents how to prepare their children to learn to read, reading scores will not rise to the levels we desire.

This sounds like an overwhelming task to impose on the parents of young children, a group that already has its share of awesome responsibilities and pressures; and granted, real success will not be achieved until the root causes of a parent’s limitations (poverty, isolation, health issues, etc.) are addressed. Yet, experts in child development agree that a loving parent is the first and best teacher of a child. Who better knows the child’s rhythms, interests and whims? Who’s a better role model to show children the importance of language and learning?

Read the rest of the article here.

About the above article: The Community Affairs Council is launching a new article series which will feature a monthly article on a literacy topic authored by one of our community partners and/or literacy-focused organizations in the DC area. The series is kicking off this month thanks to 2012 Targeted Grant recipient and new JLW placement-- the Literacy Lab!