ITEMS OF INTEREST January 14, 2008 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Michelle Vu

IF YOU CAN'T READ WELL , school can be pretty challenging. Think of those teachers pointing at cryptic words written on the whiteboard. And all those books! ... Forget it. It's too hard. So just quit. Unfortunately, that's what happens to many struggling students. They give up on the one thing that ensures future success: literacy.

But something distinctive is happening in three cities in New Jersey. Kids aren't quitting—they're excelling! Several at-risk elementary students in Newark Westside, Paterson, and New Brunswick have vastly improved reading and literacy skills. What is making the difference is the Mission:Literacy program developed by the American Bible Society and put into practice by the New Jersey Division of The Salvation Army. This joint venture creates lessons from the Bible Society's illustrated texts that both improve a student's elementary reading skills and enrich their lives.

According to statistics from Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA), Mission:Literacy is working wonders. Participants over the past year saw reading levels increase significantly—on average, 89 percent of the children increased seven reading levels. In addition, 79 percent of these kids experienced an increase in the percentage of words accurately read. ...

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