Read Better Be Better (RBBB), a non-profit literacy organization, released a reading program for students in the second through fourth grade to help improve reading skills at no cost to families, Read Better Be Better At Home.
A study by The Foundation for Child Development showed a strong correlation between students who were proficient in reading at the end of third grade and students who graduated high school on time.
“54% of Arizona’s third grade students did not score proficiently on the 2019 AzMERIT exam. The pass rate was even lower for low-income students, 66% of whom did not score proficiently,” RBBB said in a press release.
These scores connect to Arizona’s literacy problem, as the state ranked “45th in the country on how well our children are reading,” according to Stand for Children Arizona, an organization dedicated to improving children’s education.
“60% of (Arizona) students cannot read on grade level,” according to data from Stand For Children Arizona. This also means that 60% of all Arizona third-grade students cannot read at all.
Sophie Etchart founded the non-profit organization, RBBB, in 2014 to help confront Arizona’s literacy problem, the program moved online this fall.
The RBBB program traditionally pairs second through fourth-graders, or “readers,” with middle school and high school students, or “leaders.” However, due to current safety precautions, the program will take place at home with an older sibling or parent.
Katie Herrick, the communications coordinator for RBBB, said that their goal is to give students the tools that they need to learn throughout their lives.
The at-home program will provide each student with a literacy kit including books and other study materials and access to weekly online check-ins with an RBBB At Home site leader.
Herrick said that RBBB At Home plans to target elementary students with an older sibling or parent at home to help them with curriculum because they cannot be paired with leaders due to social distancing.
Herrick said they chose to market to families of elementary students because the third-grade year is so vital to their education.
“Between third grade and fourth grade, is the shift from learning how to read and reading to learn,” Herrick said.
Herrick added that since RBBB has transitioned online, the program will be more accessible to students throughout the state.
“Moving our program virtually for safety has also allowed us to launch it for individual families that are not tied to a partner school, or community organizations that want to participate,” Herrick said.
A participant in the RBBB At Home pilot said that the program helped him enjoy reading more and understand what he reads better.
“I am a better reader now. I am reading faster and understanding more,” a student named Quentin, one of RBBB At Home’s third-grade readers, said.
Parents of RBBB At Home students said that the program didn’t only help their kids with reading but also with their learning skills and family relationships.
“It was beautiful to see Ethen become more patient with Grace and light up when he had the chance to tell her what a word meant or ask her questions to enhance her understanding,” one mother said. “Overall, it was a great experience that they will always remember.”
Any family of a second- through fourth-grade student in Arizona can access RBBB At Home’s resources free of cost or contact RBBB At Home about their program.
For more information on where to access the Read Better Be Better At Home program, parents of elementary students can visit readbetterbebetter.org or contact the non-profit at 602-374-8695.
Contact the reporter at ammedi16@asu.edu.
