The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is launching a new citywide literacy campaign, entitled Reading: It Takes You Places. The campaign will work to combat the growing problem of illiteracy in the District and will encourage residents to engage in reading as a daily practice.
The OSSE will launch the campaign with an event September 4, 2008, at 10 am at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. State Superintendent of Education Deborah A. Gist and DC Public Libraries Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper will introduce the city’s new multilingual literacy campaign by unveiling the campaign materials that include television and radio public service advertisements, outdoor advertising, posters, flyers and postcards. There also will be testimonials from people who learned to read as adults.
"We want District residents of all ages to get involved in this literacy campaign to demonstrate the importance of learning to read at an early age and continuing to read throughout adulthood," said State Superintendent Gist.
District students are making strides in reading, according to the recently released DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) test scores. Students showed significant improvement in reading at both the elementary and secondary levels for the 2007-2008 school year. In reading, the number of elementary students performing at the proficient level or higher went up 7.3 percent from last year, and secondary students reaching or exceeding proficiency also increased by 7.3 percent.
However, 37 percent (170,000) of all District residents are considered functionally illiterate, compared to 21 percent nationally. People who are functionally illiterate have some ability to read and write but may have difficulty with crucial tasks such as filling out job applications, reading maps, understanding bus schedules and reading newspaper articles.
"By working together, we can bring awareness to the problem of low literacy in the District of Columbia and promote the importance of not only learning to read, but reading every day," said State Superintendent Gist.
To learn more about the campaign and the launch event, visit osse.dc.gov or call (202) 727-7535.
Listen to OSSE's Public Service Announcements: