May 10, 2016
Special KIDS COUNT Report on 4th grade reading levels to be released May 18, 2010
The numbers are in – only 20 percent of New Mexico's fourth graders are proficient in reading, ranking the state 49th in the nation. And broken down by racial and ethnic groups, the disparities are huge. For example, the percentage of proficient readers drops to 10 percent among Native American students. Such alarming data brings up the issues of child poverty, high school drop-out rates, and lack of funding for early childhood care/education in New Mexico. To tackle this problem, New Mexico Voices for Children Executive Director Eric Griego says, “It's really going to take a shift in how we think about public education. We need to think of it as a continuum beginning at birth, instead of an intervention that doesn't start until age five. That continuum would include everything from voluntary home visiting programs to high quality childcare to universal pre-K.”
The special report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation is entitled Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters, and will be released May 18, 2010.
You can also be a part of this conversation locally! NM Voices is hosting a press conference at Longfellow Elementary School, where community, education, and business leaders will speak about causes and solutions and will be available for interviews with the media.
WHEN: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, at 1:30pm
WHERE: Longfellow Elementary School, 400 Edith Blvd NE, Albuquerque
WHO: Invited speakers include:
Representative Rick Miera, Chairman, House Education Committee
Dr. Harold Bailey, Director, NM Office of African American Affairs
Ellen Bernstein, Director, Albuquerque Federation of Teachers
Eric Griego, Executive Director, NM Voices for Children
Evelyn Fernandez, Principal, Longfellow Elementary
Larry Langley, President/CEO, NM Business Roundtable for Educational Excellence
Starting May 18, you can find the report online: http://www.nmvoices.org.