At Youth Invest Partners, we know that children spend ages 0 to 8 learning to read, and from 8 to adulthood, reading to learn.
Better outcomes for infants under age three, pre-school, and pre-K enrollment, kindergarten readiness, and third-grade literacy are vital components to ensure that all youth across our region thrive to adulthood. Across Greater Washington, less than half of third grade students (46%) were proficient in reading in 2019 based on their state’s standardized test.
COVID-19 crisis has laid bare systemic inequities and persisting opportunity gaps for children and youth in the Greater Washington region. This is particularly true for children of color, who often experience painful social and economic fractures over their lifetimes. Youth Invest Partners has identified nearly 63,000 young people ages 3-4 across the Greater Washington region who are not enrolled in pre-school or pre-K. Availability of early childhood education seats and affordability impede access, with at least 32% of infants and toddlers residing in a census tract where early learning program costs exceed median household income. Grade-level reading is fundamental to learning throughout life. This outcome is predictive of a young person’s future academic success, contributing to a successful transition to adulthood and a happy, healthy, thriving life. We will focus on improving the third-grade literacy rates across our region.
