United Way of Allen County's Learn United education initiative engages volunteers who help children improve their reading skills and read at grade level by third grade.
United Way is tackling this issue because approximately 26 percent of local low-income third-graders need literacy help. Twenty-six percent (566) of Allen County low-income third-graders did not pass the reading portion of the ISTEP test in the spring of 2011. This is a marked improvement over the 40 percent that did not pass in 2007! Still, our community must continue to ensure all children can read at grade level by third grade because studies show that students who don’t read at grade level by the end of third grade are four times as likely to drop out of high school later.
If you would like to help out and volunteer for United Way's and Big Brothers Big Sisters' School Buddies or Real Men Read programs, please call (260) 456-1600 for more information.
Learn United is United Way of Allen County’s education initiative, and is dedicated to supporting children’s success in school. The Real Men Read and School Buddies programs are part of the Learn United initiative, and now Learn United also includes this partnership of local youth-serving organizations. Participating agencies include: United Way of Allen County, The Allen County Public Library, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana, Boys & Girls Clubs of Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne Community Schools Study Connections, Fort Wayne Urban League, Neighborhood Action Center, Science Central, Wellspring, and the YMCA of Fort Wayne.
“I’m excited that Learn United is expanding and bringing local organizations together so we can collaborate and serve more children in need,” said Todd Stephenson, president and CEO of United Way of Allen County.
“Learn United’s partnership with local agencies is focused on using limited resources as efficiently as possible so we can engage more volunteers to work with local children,” said Lanah Hake, United Way’s director of education initiatives. “Eventually, we would like to create a shared measurement system that will show progress, as well as highlight opportunities for additional impact.
