Earlier this week, Mayor Faulconer and other San Diego civic leaders participated in the "Share Your Love of Reading"program created by Words Alive--a local non-profit organization that seeks to promote social and emotional success through the development of passionate reading and literacy skills.
The publicity for this event presents startling statistics regarding access to reading in San Diego County--particularly within lower income communities. According to the promotional documents for the Share Your Love of Reading campaign, in low-income communities, there is an average of 1 book at home for every 300 children (radio and TV spots for the program also state that this is in contrast to 5 books for every 1 children in upper-income communities).
The program also highlights concerns regarding word acquisition by children in low-income communities. According to Words Alive, pre-schoolers in low-income households hear 300 million fewer words by Kindergarten than their more affluent peers. This "word gap" as it were, was also covered in an NPR story from 2013. The research cited in the study is also important to consider given its correlation to the disparities in academic achievement that exist in low-income students.
Here is the story for consideration:
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