Community Hospital Anderson

Discovery: Your Role in Narrowing the Economic Gap

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 30% of the 4th graders in Indiana and 28% of the 8th graders are at or above the "proficient" level in reading. State wide, you may have heard that our ISTEP scores are not that great either. Here are the more scary facts:

In the US:

It has been researched that children who have difficulty reading at the end of the first grade will still have difficulty reading by the end of the fourth grade. They could never catch up.
Poor readers in elementary schools remain poor readers in high school and are less likely to graduate from high school. The high school graduation rate in Indiana is only 68% and that ranks 34 in the US.
43% of adults with low literacy skills end up living in poverty, with 70% unemployed or part time employed.
50% of incarcerated adults cannot read or write. Welcome to Camp Pendleton!
85% of incarcerated juveniles read poorly.
$60 billion a year lost in productivity due to employees' lack of reading skills.
Unskilled population makes more demands on social services resulting in more and more expenses on the state with no end in sight.

In the world: So you think the competition for low wages and factory jobs are tough?

The top 2% of China and India top hardworking English proficient graduate can fill all the high paying jobs in the US not only once but twice. Enough said?
High cost surgeries can be had for a fraction in India and Thailand, performed by highly skilled doctors who studied at prestigious schools right here in America.

We can go on and on but it's more important to address what we all can do. It's never too late to be involved and change the tide. While debates and programs are happening to improve Indiana's education level, what can we do as individuals?

Read, read, read, and read some more to your little people! As soon and as early as you can. Children gain considerable knowledge about language between birth and age 6. As parents, or relatives, or mentors, you are directly affecting the development of their reading skills.
Read or develop your own reading skills. Children learn good (or bad) habits through modeling the adults around them.
Let them choose their own reading material. Reading is to be a pleasure not a chore.
Children who read only 15 minutes a day can advance their reading levels.
Visit your local libraries with your children for a variety of reading materials. Children who do not read during the summer can slide backwards by two months or about 22% of the school year.
Provide materials and encourage them to write and illustrate their own book.
Become a mentor at school, a volunteer at the libraries to promote reading for fun.

Below are websites of community based programs that will guide you and arm you for the battle against illiteracy and the future of our community, our state: