The Rotary theme for the month of September is Basic Education and Literacy. This theme seems apropo given that many schools are at the start of another school year; however, the significance of this theme extends far beyond the start of school. Basic education and literacy are essential for reducing poverty, improving health and wellbeing, encouraging community and economic development, and promoting peace. It should be no surprise that literacy in education is the foundation for all other academic knowledge and skills. Learning to read with understanding and write effectively creates shared knowledge and understanding while expanding communication and critical thinking.
So why is it that only 57% of adults in the United States have proficient literacy skills, and nearly 32 million of adults in our country are functionally illiterate (National Center for Education Statistics)? Even more sobering is that only 1 in 3 children who enter kindergarten with below-average literacy skills will read proficiently by 3rd grade. Moreover, 1 in 6 children who are not reading proficiently in 3rd grade will not graduate from high school on time, a rate 4 times greater than that for proficient readers.The alarming outcome is that 1 in 4 children in America grow up unable to read.
The good news is that there is a united commitment to increase literacy. We can be grateful that we live in a county that supports literacy. This is evidenced by the community's recent renewal of the Ready by Five Early Childhood millage and the Kent District Library operating millage. On a broader scale, the state of Michigan continues to make significant investments in supporting literacy from expanding free preschool to funding professional development in the science of reading to awarding extended learning grants to support K-3rd grade after school and summer school literacy programming.
As a Rotary Club, we have also taken steps to promote the importance of literacy. Our club constructed and installed three little free libraries within the Comstock Park area. More recently, our club donated the funds to install a StoryWalk® along the path at Dwight Lydell Park. Prior to the pandemic, several of our Rotations signed up to listen to Pine Island Elementary students read.
With the pandemic behind us, is there interest in resuming the partnership with Pine Island Elementary? What other ways can we promote the importance of literacy? Rotary has several ideas on its website at rotary.org/en/our-causes/supporting-education. I encourage you to share your ideas with those on the Service Projects committee.
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