Get Delaware Reading

Imagine not being able to read this sentence?

Unfortunately, this is the reality of more than 80% of third graders in Wilmington’s public schools.

Children unable to read on grade level when entering fourth grade are likely to struggle in school, and many will drop out before completing high school. Simply and sadly put, Delaware faces a literacy crisis.

Get Delaware Reading, Delaware’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, recently launched Get Delaware Reading-Wilmington, a campaign to ensure that 500 of today’s Wilmington kindergartners are reading on grade-level by the end of third-grade. To help improve literacy in the city of Wilmington, Get Delaware Reading-Wilmington is targeting 125 four-year-old’s in public schools and early child care centers, and will add a new cohort of 125 additional prekindergartners each year over the next four years. The goal is to “move the needle” from 18% grade-level fluency today to 30% by 2023, and from 30% to 50% by 2026.

The initiative includes a package of evidence-based materials from Nemours Bright Start! curriculum, and training and logistics support from Parents as Teachers,  and the Delaware Association for The Education of Young Children (DAEYC). Participating children and their families will receive yearround academic and social supports, including literacy training materials, home visits from trained educators, tuition support for children to attend reading enrichment summer camps, and employment and financial management coaching for parents.

Get Delaware Reading is an initiative championed by United Way of Delaware, the Delaware State Board of Education and the Delaware Department of Education.  The campaign is collaborating with partners across Delaware to focus on improving school readiness, summer learning, and school attendance, all of which are proven strategies to improve childhood literacy rates.

Schloon Hawkins, United Way of Delaware Power Point Video Presentation
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD POWER POINT PRESENTATION

 

To learn more about the movement, contact Schlonn Hawkins at 302.573.3722 or shawkins@uwde.org.