CLEVELAND — The statistics are sobering.
According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, two-thirds of students who can’t read proficiently by the end of fourth grade will end up on welfare — or in jail.
Eight-five percent of all juveniles dealing with incarceration or the court system are functionally illiterate.
“The work we have to do, it really does start with literacy,” said Amy Ast, director of the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
DYS operates three high schools inside their three juvenile detention facilities across the state - and this school year, Ast said they’re making literacy a priority.
“When our kids come to us, oftentimes people forget they are a nontraditional student,” she explained. “We know they come to us with learning disabilities, have not had good experiences in school, we know they have trauma.”
Ast said the average age of youth they have in detention are sophomores — but reading at a fifth grade level.
The initial goal is to get their reading up by one grade level or more.
To start, DYS is upgrading all media centers with new funding, using a software called Mindplay that utilizes technology to boost literacy, setting up book clubs, and giving reading time in every period.
Not just in English class, but in career tech, social studies, even math.
They’re also bringing in new "high-interest" books to the libraries.
“When you’re trying to get kids to read, you want them to have things of interest to them,” Ast said.
Rob Fischer is the co-director of the Center on Urban Poverty and Community Development, and an associate professor at Case Western Reserve University.
He said with income disparities, food and housing issues and mental health concerns, illiteracy gets its roots in early childhood and spirals.
“When you think about kids views of themselves, they’re going to start considering whether an academic career is best for them,” Fisher said. “And as they disconnect from that, they might get more engaged in negative behaviors, delinquency behaviors and those have consequences that tend to snowball.”
Fischer said it’s crucial to get to literacy issues earlier in childhood.
“We know from things like high-quality early education, free pre-K services, home visits and support early intervention help families dealing with a variety of challenges,” Fischer said.
Research shows raising literacy rates can reduce recidivism and improve public safety — a benefit, of course, to all of us.
Ast said last year, the state run juvenile facilities in Ohio graduated nearly 70 kids with high school diplomas — a milestone they are proud of and hope to grow on.
“I don’t want them to be forgotten kids,” Ast said. “They are coming back into our communities and they really just need people to support around them.”
A key to improving a child's literacy is making sure they have access to books, but there are many in our community who don't have a single book to call their own.
That's why the Give a Child a Book campaign is so important to News 5 and our parent company, E.W. Scripps.
Just $5 can provide a book to a child to help them build their own at-home libraries. And the money donated in Northeast Ohio stays in Northeast Ohio.
You can learn more or donate by clicking here.
