Hays-Porter students help launch Read On! Campaign

Several first- and second-graders from Hays-Porter School were among dozens of students who participated Aug. 27, 2013, in the kickoff of Greater Cincinnati’s Read On! Campaign for Early Grade-Level Reading.

The students, led by FamiliesFORWARD After-School Program staff members Vickie Matchett and Richara Richardson, were provided lunch and attended the Duke Energy Children’s Museum at Cincinnati Museum Center.

The early-reading program was developed to bring awareness to the importance of teaching young students to read. Those involved in the Read On! Campaign say youngsters’ ability to read at grade-level is critical to future academic success. They say studies show that students unable to read at grade level by the end of the third grade are four times more likely to drop out of school than those who can read.

The campaign is led by The Strive Partnership and the Northern Kentucky Education Council, in partnership with United Way of Greater Cincinnati.

Ohio is among a number of states that have adopted laws to ensure that students read at grade level at the end of the third grade before moving on to the fourth grade. In Ohio, the law is known as the Third-Grade Reading Guarantee.

The Hays-Porter students were the only ones from Cincinnati Public Schools to participate in the launch, which was attended by Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Mary Ronan (in middle in right photo below, with FamiliesFORWARD's Richara Richardson at left; Hays-Porter second-grade teacher Patrick Wilde at right; and first-grader Antoniya Thompson and second-grader Javon Davis).