Building solutions for our babies, each and every day (+ new national award!)
Building solutions for our babies, each and every day (+ new national award!)
NAEP scores — also known as the Nation’s Report Card — came out this week, and they’ve sent folks into a tizzy. They’re brutal, but they shouldn’t be shocking. They’re simply confirmation of what those of us on the ground have known for a long time: we’re in a reading and math crisis, especially for kids of color. The pandemic disrupted students’ learning through multiple school years and hit hardest for the students who were struggling even before COVID hit.
Approximately one-third of fourth graders across the country are proficient in math and reading. For eighth graders, not even one-third nationally are proficient in reading — and for math, only about a quarter of students are doing math at grade level. Think about that. This is not the time to wring our hands or wag fingers at failing systems. This is not the time for one more story, panel, or Facebook post about “problems.” It’s time to think outside the box, innovate, and come to the table with solutions. It’s time to…REACH!
Our babies don’t need us to point fingers; they need us to upend the status quo.
That’s what REACH’s efforts have been about since day one — we got real nimble and real creative long before COVID came to town. The reading and math crises in Oakland are generations in the making. When the pandemic struck, we didn’t wait for NAEP scores. We built our Hub so that our babies would have access to quality academics and enrichment support. And our babies increased their literacy skills…in the middle of a pandemic.
None of this has been easy, but we know that building our own solutions is the only way we’re going to get our kids reading, doing math, and gaining access to a future of their choosing. We couldn’t do it without our incredibly dedicated team or our devoted supporters who have helped finance our grassroots solutions.
And speaking of solutions — I’ve got exciting news to share with you first today:
I’m thrilled to share that the nonprofit Accelerate has chosen to help fund one of our newest and most unique solutions: our unique and powerful Literacy Liberator model.
With their financial support and that of many others, we’ll be able to recruit and train members of our community to provide students in K-2 classrooms with access to high-quality literacy tutoring. But just as important, Accelerate has also committed to studying our model together with the Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE), so that school systems and organizations far and wide can learn how to tap into and foster talent in their own backyards.
The Oakland REACH is one of 31 partners selected to receive this award, part of a broader national effort to develop and scale a sustainable, cost-effective model for high-impact tutoring that boosts academic achievement for all students.
The new NAEP scores are incredibly worrisome — our babies’ futures are at stake! But they’re just one more sign that our work is the right work, our solutions are needed more than ever, and now it’s our job to keep the momentum going.
Share the latest news about funding from Accelerate to support high-dosage tutoring models here.
🧵1/ And speaking of solutions — I’ve got exciting news to share:
The nonprofit Accelerate has chosen to help fund one of our newest and most unique solutions: our unique and powerful Literacy Liberator model. https://t.co/Agj90jvTVU
— Lakisha Young (@LakishaYoungCEO) October 27, 2022