Here’s How a Federal Initiative Can Turn It Around

According to the Children’s Reading Foundation, 4 out of 10 children begin kindergarten 1-3 years below grade level.

What exactly does this mean? It means these children lack the pre-literacy skills they need to learn to read.

Even with appropriate instruction going forward this gap is difficult to close. 75% of these children will not catch up to their peers who came to kindergarten prepared.

You may be wondering why good teaching seldom catches these children up with their peers. Watch here to understand why this is so difficult.

If we’re going to be successful in overcoming the literacy crisis, we have to direct our efforts toward the earliest years. Here’s how it can be done.

Initiatives of the Past Show Us the Way

In the 1960s two public relations campaigns were rolled out that dramatically changed the attitudes and habits of Americans.

When the Surgeon General of the U.S. released a study warning of the carcinogenic effects of smoking, it radically shifted Americans’ behavior.

Cigarettes lost their “cool,” became socially unacceptable, and Americans gave them up.

They chose for health when they had information.

In the same decade, Lady Bird Johnson launched her “Keep America Beautiful Campaign” nationally that made littering practically an ethical crime.

Even school children were taught that throwing trash out the window of your car was wrong and disrespectful.

Every child was sent home with a plastic litter bag and told to hang it in the family car.

It worked. Throwing trash out of the car and littering public spaces became anathema.

What Do These History Lessons Have to Teach Us Now?

The federal initiatives of the past show us that public opinion and practice can change dramatically when Americans have information and support.

Here’s how a similar two-step initiative can be applied to roll back the literacy crisis nationally.

1️⃣ Educate Parents

Initiate a national public relations campaign that explains why shared reading from birth is essential for school readiness and learning to read.

The digital revolution has left a generation of parents in its wake that does not understand how important this is for a child’s brain development.

2️⃣ Guarantee Access to Books

Federally fund every child’s enrollment in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library from birth. Just $155 per child covers the cost of delivering a free book every month from birth until kindergarten.

This means every American begins life and school with a personal library of 60 books.

This solution is how we overcome the two obstacles preventing literacy success. It’s simple, affordable, and has a historical precedent for effectiveness.