By: Ashmar Mandou
It is an indisputable fact that a child’s reading skills are important to their confidence and success in school, work, and life overall. Unfortunately, illiteracy is a national crisis among school-aged children with only 37 percent of all fourth grade students in the U.S. were proficient readers; in Chicago that number is only 27 percent, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP also reported that Black and Latino students tested far, at 20 percent and 23 percent, respectively.
“There are several circumstances that contribute to low-literacy levels among Black and Latino students, including lack of access to books, schools not having enough funding for after-school programs, even socioeconomics play a role,” said Lauren Jarvis, Reading in Motion’s Programs Coordinator. “The best part of what we do is provide extra support to students.”
Reading in Motion, founded 40 years ago, is a literacy organization that equips students with the tools to improve their reading comprehension within the first years of school. It is a results-driven organization that assesses the whole learning environment and takes an innovative literacy approach delivered in English and Spanish. “Reading in Motion works primarily with schools in underserved communities,” said Sandra Kurehwa, Reading in Motion’s Engagement Manager. “Our program is different compared to most literacy programs in that we are affordable, we are non-profit, we are a cost-effective program to aid schools that do not have the funding. Our curriculum is arts based and data driven. Our method captures the attention of young students and is easy to implement into the classrooms.”
Reading in Motion incorporates music and drama based elements in small groups and whole class sessions. Teachers deliver the curriculum daily while Reading in Motion provides the coaching, materials, and data on student progress by conducting assessments throughout the school year, which in turn helps to curate a program based on a child’s individual learning needs. The program is designed to help students in pre-kindergarten to first grade. Reading in Motion has supported over 5,000 students with their reading programs in the 2019-2020 school year, has worked with over 50 schools including Belmont-Cragin Elementary School and Gads Hill Center, has worked in over 200 classrooms, and provided 50 hours of coaching and training per teacher. Since its inception, Reading in Motion has supported over 50,000 students with their literacy programs.
“There are a lot of tools to help parents get involved in their child’s education. If you see that your child is struggling to read, or having trouble in school, get involved, ask questions, encourage your child’s school to search for implemental programs like Reading in Motion,” said Kurehwa. To help spark a child’s passion for reading, Jarvis says reading to a child every single night for at least 15-20min will make a difference, asking questions about what they read, even utilizing car rides as time to learn to read and rhythm. “Just read. Read as much as possible to your child, it’s the best thing you can do together.” If you are a parent or a school that would like to learn more about Reading in Motion, visit www.readinginmotion.org.
Photo Credit: Reading in Motion
