Read Fort Worth’s next iteration was unveiled Monday, Dec. 19 at a community stakeholders luncheon entitled “Mobilizing the Next Phase: Our Collective Journey to 100×25.”
BNSF Railway sponsored the luncheon at the Lena Pope Amon Carter Center.
“Read Fort Worth has big, audacious goals around school readiness and third-grade reading,” Read Fort Worth Executive Director Anel Mercado said in a news release. “We’ll tackle them by working alongside our community through our Collaborative Action Networks. Together, we can make a powerful difference in these areas.”
The program included presentations from BNSF Railway Executive Chairman Matt Rose, Fort Worth Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff Mattie Parker, Fort Worth ISD Superintendent Dr. Kent Scribner and Mercado.
Read Fort Worth is an unprecedented coalition of business, civic, education, philanthropic, nonprofit and volunteer leaders to ensure that 100 percent of Fort Worth third-graders are reading to learn – not learning to read – by 2025.
Studies show that 75 percent of students who struggle with reading in third grade never catch up and are four times as likely to drop out of high school.
In Fort Worth, Read Fort Worth reports on its website, 35 percent of third-graders are reading at grade level and 34,000 of the Fort Worth ISD’s 87,000 students are in pre-K through third grade.
“The shared mission of Read Fort Worth and Fort Worth ISD is to align partners, strategies and resources to significantly improve early childhood literacy so that 100 percent of Fort Worth third-graders are reading on grade level by 2025,” Read Fort Worth said.
Read Fort Worth exists to provide unique, actionable data; to organize and align partners under the shared 100×25 goal; to develop strategies for significant improvement, and to communicate best practices and drive results.
www.ReadFortWorth.org
– FWBP Staff