Cummins Eastern Canada
Community Partners Announce Expansion of
One in four children in the United States will grow up without learning how to read (WriteExpress Corporation. “Literacy Statistics.” Begin to Read). There are literacy programs throughout the United States aimed at reducing sobering numbers like these, and one that Cummins partnered with during the 2014-2015 school year was Read by 3 Columbus.
Following the impressive results of the program’s first year, Read by 3 Columbus is expanding with support from R.E.A.D.S., the M.A. Rooney Foundation, Heritage Fund – The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, the PNC Foundation, and representatives of Cummins.
During the pilot year of the program, 89 percent of the 140 participating kindergartners were reading at grade level by the end of the school year…
Read by 3 Columbus was first launched in the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation during the 2014-2015 school year. During the pilot year of the program, 89 percent of the 140 participating kindergartners were reading at grade level by the end of the school year, compared to 81 percent of kindergartners at the identified schools reading at grade level by the end of the 2013-2014 school year.
The program is modeled after a pilot that was launched in the 2011-2012 school year in five Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) by the M.A. Rooney Foundation.
The motivation behind the launching in Columbus came from a parent created grassroots organization called R.E.A.D.S., (Recognizing Education and Advocating for Dyslexic Students) who helped highlight the needs to help dyslexic children in the community.
At Cummins, we’re dedicated to helping improve the communities in which we operate. One of the most effective ways to accomplish that is by helping children develop the skills they need to be successful in the future.
“After working with so many wonderful partners to bring this program to Columbus, we are thrilled with its initial success,” said Brian Mormino, an Executive Director at Cummins who is the father of a dyslexic child in BCSC and leads the R.E.A.D.S. organization. “We are working diligently to continue those strong results with the expansion of Read by 3 Columbus and hope to serve many more children.”
The Rooney Foundation is the author of the lesson plans being used the BCSC program. In addition, they supplied the teacher training and materials and are providing overall support to the program.
“It’s important to not only fund programming for our students, but lend support for teacher training in order to prepare our youngest students for educational success. The dual investment ultimately helps build a solid foundation for the future workforce of this region,” said Connie Bond Stuart, PNC regional president for central Indiana.
As with the first pilot year, the progress of the students will be monitored regularly. The vision is to expand the program in the coming years as an option to include all kindergarten, first and second grade students at BSCS schools.
Source: http://social.cummins.com/community-partners-announce-expansion-read-3-columbus-successful-pilot-results/
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