Last week we began rolling out the last of our Publisher Payment program donations, focused on helping content creators, tool makers, and readers.
Today, Readability is joining forces with Change for Kids to underwrite their one-on-one literacy tutoring at P.S. 81 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn for the entire 2012-2013 school year. With this donation, Change for Kids will be able to reach an estimated 50-65 students in grades 1-5 with individualized instruction on a weekly basis.
Change for Kids partners with NYC public schools and donors to bolster critical skills for young students when educational resources are stretched thin. They operate at a human scale, working to elevate the environment at one target school at a time. It’s an approach that’s earned real success.
Here are a few telling statistics that speak to the conditions at P.S. 81 and the need for programs like this:
- P.S. 81 is surrounded by five public shelters
- 93% of the school’s students receive free or reduced lunch
- 42% of community residents are high school drop-outs and 59% are unemployed or not in the labor force
- Without the Change for Kids program, there would no formal art program, limited tutoring, and inadequate fitness instruction.
P.S. 81’s Principal, Cheryl Ault-Barker writes, “Most students have very few books at home and many do not have computers with access to the Internet. Many students are below grade-level, particularly in reading, and our parents struggle to assist students with work because they themselves may have low literacy rates.”
With this partnership, we’re grateful to have the opportunity to do something about that.
