Dear Literacy Champions:
Have you seen the new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences? This study confirms that cumulative access to books significantly improves literacy rates in communities.
The Facts:
- Children living in homes with over 100 books are 90% more likely to complete ninth grade.
- 60 high poverty Milwaukee elementary schools were ’treatment’ or ‘controls. ‘ The treatment groups received quality books every year for five years. No incentives were offered.
- Students receiving the books scored significantly higher on reading assessments (translating to a 25% to 32% increase). The control schools did not receive any books.
This confirms that cumulative and sustained access to books matters and improves literacy achievement. Widespread book distribution is a scalable strategy.
That’s why we are working alongside you to put books in the hands of every child through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and creating micro-libraries with our partners in communities and elementary schools across Virginia.
Thank you for being a literacy champion and doing your part to help every child love books, learn to read by third grade and succeed in K-12, higher education, the workforce and life.
Stay tuned to learn more about how we are teaming up with school divisions to equip and empower teachers to teach reading effectively in K-3 classrooms through the Virginia Literacy Act. We are thankful for our partnerships with VA Department of Education, Virginia Literacy Partnerships @ UVA and school divisions.