As a business leader and retired CEO of Sentara, I have seen firsthand what happens when we push students through an educational system without the skills they need to succeed. Today, 40% of Virginia’s third graders cannot read. When students cannot read, they cannot learn. They will struggle in school, the workforce and life. They are four times more likely not to graduate from high school. A person’s ability to read is a critical predictor of educational, workplace and life success. The recently released Nation’s Report Card tells us that reading scores are slipping in Virginia and across the nation.
Research shows that access to books and reading aloud improves kindergarten literacy skills, boosts third-grade reading and correlates with higher high school graduation rates. The American Academy of Pediatrics asserts that access to books and being read to are directly tied to kindergarten readiness, education and economic trajectories.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails age-appropriate, high-quality books to children from birth to age 5, regardless of their family’s income, to inspire a love of reading. A child enrolled at birth will have a home library of 60 books. Each book comes with title-specific reading activities for families to engage and interact. Books are carefully selected and available in English, Spanish and Braille. Currently, 14% of eligible children in Virginia are receiving books.
The legislature has made literacy a priority. It is imperative that the commonwealth invests year after year as other states have done. This investment is not just about providing books, it is part of Virginia’s comprehensive strategy to help more children read by third grade. The $4.7 million will provide over 300,000 families equitable access to books in communities across Virginia through public-private investment. If you can read, you can do anything.
Howard P. Kern, CEO emeritus, Sentara Health