Reading proficiency by third grade is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success. Yet every year, more than 80 percent of low-income children nationwide miss this crucial milestone.

Tahoe Truckee Reads is a coalition of partners committed to improving Tahoe Truckee youth's reading success. Following the framework outlined by the National Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, the initiative focuses on school readiness, school attendance, and avoiding summer learning loss.   The initiative helps ensure that more children in our community succeed in school and graduate prepared for college, a career, and active citizenship.

The Initiative

Why third grade

The end of third grade marks a key transition, where children shift from learning to read and are expected to read to learn. We know if children don’t read well by that point, they are less likely to catch up, less likely to graduate from high school, and less likely to find a good job. In fact, 74 percent of students who do not meet this mark falter in later grades and drop out before earning a high school diploma. By reaching children early on, our community can go a long way toward closing achievement gaps, reducing dropout rates, and breaking the pernicious cycle of poverty.

Attendance is Critical

Chronic absence is a measure of how much school a student misses for any reason. Starting in the early grades, the percentage of students missing 10 percent of the school year or more can reach remarkably high levels. These early absences can rob students of the time they need to develop literacy skills.

Too many children start school already far behind

Research shows that learning begins long before a child enters kindergarten. Children, even infants, soak up words, rhymes, songs, and images. Vocabulary development is particularly important.

Just as there is an achievement gap in school performance, there is a school readiness gap that separates disadvantaged children from their more affluent peers. As early as 18 months, low-income children begin to fall behind in vocabulary development and other skills critical for school success. 

Parents play an enormous role in closing this gap, as do daycare providers, pediatricians, preschools programs, and the broader community. 

Too many children lose ground over the summer.

Research spanning 100 years has proven that students lose ground academically when they are out of school for the summer. The problem is particularly acute among low-income students who lose an average of more than two months in reading achievement in the summer, which slows their progress toward third-grade reading proficiency. And it exacerbates the achievement gap with their middle-class peers.

Dedicated partners work together using a "Collective Impact Model," focusing on common goals for improving the literacy and early school success of our region's youth. Click here for the most recent Issue Brief and to see the impact. 

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