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File #: 180034    Version: 0 Name:
Type: Resolution Status: ADOPTED
File created: 1/25/2018 In control: CITY COUNCIL
On agenda: Final action: 1/25/2018
Title: Honoring and recognizing the Read by 4th initiative for its dedication to increasing educational attainment in the City of Philadelphia
Sponsors: Councilmember Johnson, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Domb, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Taubenberger, Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez
Attachments: 1. Signature18003400.pdf
Title
Honoring and recognizing the Read by 4th initiative for its dedication to increasing educational attainment in the City of Philadelphia

Body
WHEREAS, The Free Library's Read by 4th initiative, founded in July of 2015, is an unprecedented citywide effort, in partnership with over 90 educational organizations across the City, to increase young people's reading skills through targeted mentorships and educational materials, training programs for educators and community members, and holistic guidance for families with young children; and

WHEREAS, Evidence shows that students who are reading at grade level or above by the fourth grade are more likely to graduate from high school on time and also more likely to attend college. Furthermore, the inability to read at grade level by the fourth grade correlates with higher rates of school dropout, anti-social behavior, and incarceration later in life; and

WHEREAS, Recognizing the importance of keeping young students on track, Read by 4th set a goal of increasing the rate at which third graders read at grade level to at least 85% by 2020, more than double the 41.9% of third graders reading at grade level in the 2016-17 school year; and

WHEREAS, Read by 4th and its educational partners are dedicated to a strategic, holistic approach to child literacy; and

WHEREAS, By encouraging parents and other role models in the community to take an active role in their children's education, Read by 4th has helped to create successful habits in young students and their families in neighborhoods across the City; and

WHEREAS, Understanding the importance of creating an educational community around young learners, Read by 4th has helped train 70 Reading Captains to serve as educational mentors in their neighborhoods, including 32 during the Summer of 2017 alone; and

WHEREAS, To ensure children do not regress in their reading skills while away from school, Read by 4th has established more than 120 Summer Read and R...

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