88% of people who don’t graduate from high school were struggling readers in the third grade.
Both nationwide and in North Carolina, only 32% of fourth graders were proficient in reading.
Students who are identified as poor readers by the end of their first grade year rarely obtain even averge reading ability.
Since COVID, the number of kids who are stuggling to read has grown from about 1 in 5 to about 1 in 3. Here is a link to a podcast, which recently aired on NPR, that explains part of the problem. For parents of a struggling reader, it is well worth the 50 minutes it will take to listen to it. It is very enlightening.
• Nationwide, on average, only 79% of U.S. adults are literate in 2022.
• 21% of adults in the US are illiterate in 2022.
• 54% of adults have a literacy level below 6th grade.
• Low levels of literacy cost the US up to 2.2 trillion per year.
• On average, nationwide, 66% of 4th-grade children in the U.S. could not read proficiently in 2013.
• 85% of juvenile offenders have problems reading.
• 60% of people in American prisons can’t read.
• 75% of people on welfare can’t read.
References
1. U.S. Department of Education Data Points Adult Literacy in the United States
2. NCES Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
3. Digest of Education Statistics 2018
4. Literacy Project – 30 Key Child Literacy Stats Parents Need to Be Aware of
We are proud and humbled to receive the 2022 Duke Energy Citizenship and Service Award. Thank you to the King Chamber of Commerce and Duke Energy.
Unless notified otherwise by your tutor:
If Stokes County Schools are closed for inclement weather, Buffalo Creek will be closed as well.
If Stokes County Schools are on a delayed schedule or an early dismissal schedule, Buffalo Creek will not operate in schools. Your tutoring outside of school on those days will be canceled if your scheduled tutoring time falls before school opens on a delayed day or after students are released on an early dismissal day.
You can get information on Stokes County Schools’ delays and closings on our local news channel (WXII). We will also post our closing information on WXII.
I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for your time, your dedication, your skills and your belief in the importance of teaching students to read. The impact of the love and the kindness you show each time you tutor changes the life of your student in immeasurable ways. It is because of you that Buffalo Creek continues to grow and is able to continue to pursue our mission, one reader at a time. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year. Thank you for what you do. You inspire me.
From a student who has completed our program:
“I want to thank Buffalo Creek. It has been great for me. I was sent through school just to get by and nobody cared. So at 57 and hard of hearing, Jeff Pratt and Buffalo Creek helped me when I didn’t know where to turn. It is great to have a program and people that care. Thanks Buffalo Creek.”
We have more students than ever before, both children and adults, and are in need of volunteer tutors. Learning to tutor has never been easier. With almost all of our new students, we are using the Reading Horizons software. All you need to do is spend about two hours with me to train on the software, then spend a little time on your own getting used to it. An experienced tutor will sit with you and your student until you are completely comfortable with the process. We ask a tutor to work with a student for at least two weekly sessions of about 45 minutes to an hour each. There is little or no preparation for the lessons, since the computer does virtually all of the instruction. Join the fun and change someone’s life! Call or email Jeff Pratt at 336-816-7758 or jeff@bclpstokes.org.
