Cincinnatti and Northern Kentucky ready to improve Gr 3 reading scores by 2020

http://www.coshoctontribune.com/usatoday/article/38834577?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|Frontpage|s
Mar 18, 2012

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NEWPORT, Ky. (WTW) — More than 70 organizations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky are teaming up on a national effort to improve third-grade reading levels.
The eight-year initiative includes seven counties and 19 school districts. It's one of the broadest such efforts ever undertaken, organizers said.
Its goal is to have 100 percent of children in this region reading successfully by the end of third grade by 2020....
"We all believe that kindergarten readiness and third grade reading are the single most important factors to getting a child to graduate from high school," said Robert Reifsnyder, president and CEO of United Way.  We really feel that it's absolutely critical to build community will around the importance of getting kids prepared for kindergarten and getting them to know how critical reading is and build reading skills," he said. "Those skills stay with you for the rest of your life. And if you don't have them early, you get behind early."
Greg Landsman, executive director of the Strive Partnership...said the grade-level reading campaign "will create perhaps the most robust talent pipeline in the country, unlocking the limitless potential of each and every child in our region."
To meet the goal of 100 percent third-grade reading proficiency, the coalition will:
— target disadvantaged students and high-need schools
— work regionally in three areas: kindergarten readiness, attendance, and summer learning
— expand volunteer efforts such as tutoring
— create a stronger focus in schools and communities on reading and attendance
— align funding with programs that work.
The plan is in its early stages. Details on exactly how it will work, how much it will cost and how it will be funded are being finalized. The full plan will be rolled out this summer.