One-in-three third graders in the Kansas City region can't read at a basic level— meaning they're at least one grade level behind, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. And for Black and brown students, that percentage is higher.
Pauly Hart, the executive director of Lead to Read KC, calls the high rates of low literacy a "crisis." Reading test scores have dropped since 2019, and Missouri students are still trying to recover from learning deficits caused by the pandemic.
But low rates of reading proficiency have been a problem for years now.
Angelique Nedved, the president and CEO of School Smart KC, says the solution needs to come from more than just classroom teachers. It will also take parents and community members.
"I think we can do so much more coming together as a community and saying 'literacy is critical,'" Nedved said.
Nedved says spaces like grocery stores or doctors' waiting rooms should be designed with learning and literacy for kids in mind.
- Pauly Hart, Executive Director, Lead to Read KC
- Angelique Nedved, President and CEO, School Smart KC
- Shannon Reasby, reading specialist educator
