I'm working on a presentation for the Tennessee Association of School Librarians Conference.
Here are some 2016 statistics regarding public school children statewide in Tennessee:
48.9% receive free or reduced-price school lunch
32.3% live in families that receive SNAP (food stamps)
24.1% live in poverty
11% live in extreme poverty
5% live in foster care
48.4% of 3rd-5th graders are reading at proficient level
Of 4th-graders eligible for free lunch, 22% are reading at proficient level.
This means that 88% of 4th-grades NOT eligible for free lunch are reading at proficient level.
This is the difference poverty makes. If you aren't poor enough for free lunch, you've got nearly a 9/10 chance of reading proficiently in fourth grade. If you are, it drops to 1/5.
I could throw more statistics at you--I've been working on this for two days--but the upshot is, poor kids need books.
Poor kids need books. Get them some. It's the way out.
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