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CLEVELAND – Two out of three Clevelanders are functionally illiterate.
It’s a problem that has plagued the city for decades.
News 5 is committed to overcoming the city’s low literacy levels by partnering with the Scripps Howard Foundation for our “If you give a book to a child…” campaign.
On Friday, you can help us put books in the hands of children from low-income families, stay in school, nurture their dreams and break the cycle of poverty.
Every $ 5 donated will buy a book for a child at Wade Park School in Cleveland.
“It goes well. I’m happy to see my classmates, to reconnect with them because I haven’t seen them in a minute, ”said Jordyn Smith, a gifted Grade 8 student at Wade Park School.
The students have been at school for three weeks now. Smith picked up with his friends Endia Hill and Domnique Woodson where they left off last school year by bonding over their similarities.
They all have braids in their hair, they all choose math as their favorite subject, and they all love to read.
“I can read books, immerse myself in them, enjoy what’s going on in a book and be active with it,” said Woodson.
“I like drama and mystery a bit because it really appeals to me. That’s what I like, ”Hill said.
This love was instilled in them at home when they were younger and now it is nurtured by their teacher, Melissa Moran. Moran teaches gifted grade 7 and 8 students at Wade Park School.
“It is 100% important for students to learn their basics when they are younger, and just to develop this love of reading as a child through picture books, whatever, just so that when they come to me see, they have that love and they want to continue their reading journey, ”Moran said.
But building a foundation isn’t that easy for a lot of other kids.
According to the Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank, two in three low-income children don’t have books for themselves.
This is crucial because studies show that a child’s academic growth and future career opportunities are positively affected by having lots of books at home.
“As a teacher I certainly see a wide variety of reading levels and also different levels of interest in books, I think, which will often lead to different reading levels within the classroom,” Moran said. .
As a Title 1 school, 100% of students in Wade Park come from low-income families.
Last year, News 5 therefore teamed up with the school for our “If you give a book to a child …” campaign. Thanks to donations from community members, we were able to raise enough money to provide the students with six books each which they could keep and take home.
“I was happy because I never had the chance for people to give me books like that. I always had to go to the library and check them out, ”Hill said.
For these three classmates, books reinforce this ever-important love of reading and have an impact on them and their peers that will last for years to come.
“It was very important because I love reading books at home in my own space, of course, and I was happy that I was able to take books from here and go home with them,” said Smith.
“It makes me happy to have opportunities that some people haven’t had, and I’m thankful for what I have,” said Woodson.
To donate to the Scripps Howard Foundation’s “If you give a book to a child” campaign, click here.
Jade Jarvis is a reporter for News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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