In 1994, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) completed one of its periodic surveys of student achievement, and found further evidence of an alarming national problem: The inability of many children to read well. Forty percent of fourth graders had not attained its Basic level of reading skills, and 70 percent could not be considered Proficient in reading. The results were bleaker for students from poor families and students attending urban public schools.
In August 1996, President Clinton proposed a national literacy campaign that would enlist one million volunteer tutors ready and able to give children the personal attention they need to catch up and get ahead. The federal government would play a crucial but limited role as a catalyst in building the President's "citizen army" of reading tutors. The America Reads Challenge was created for this purpose. The Administration recruited college and university presidents to champion the establishment of new work-study tutoring programs. By June 1998, 1,100 colleges and universities were using the America Reads waiver, and 22,000 students were working as reading tutors. Some institutions could not keep up with requests from students to participate in the program.
America Reads has a simple but important goal: We want all children to read well and independently by the end of third grade. To promote public awareness about early childhood literacy, the America Reads program has built links with non-governmental organizations already working in the area. It encourages its partners to participate in the annual "Read Across America Day," sponsored by the National Education Association, and "National Family Literacy Day," sponsored by the National Center for Family Literacy. America Reads has also inspired new national literacy campaigns. The National Jewish Campaign for Literacy, begun in 1997, now has local affiliates in 26 cities across the country. Its goal is to mobilize 10,000 weekly reading partners by 2000. The 145,000 members of Phi Theta Kappa, the honor society for two-year colleges, chose America Reads as the theme for their 1998-2000-service program.
The America Reads program at the Literacy Center at Ohio University utilizes the help of undergraduate students attending the University as well as volunteers that are gracious to give their time. The program, since its inception, has expanded from only working with children in grades Kindergarten to 3rd, to children in grades Kindergarten to 6th grade. This is due to the loss of federal funding. Nonetheless, the America Reads program continues to thrive thanks to the generous donations of local businesses and supportive individuals in and around Athens County.
