Not a promising development for boys…
A failure to meet rising literacy demands in the early grades is at the root of the boy troubles, and now it appears the recession threatens privately-funded efforts to help out. Undoubtedly, this story in the NY Daily News mirrors what is happening in the rest of the country. (Photo courtesy of Daily News):
Skyrocketing unemployment has city high school dropouts scrambling to get diplomas - only to find massive waiting lists for classes and cuts to vital literacy programs.
About 28% of city residents who are 25 years and older don’t have high school diplomas, Census data show, and they are among the most vulnerable victims of the economic meltdown.
“We’re all collectively holding our breath, hoping that we can make it through the fiscal year,” said Elyse Barbell, executive director of the Literacy Assistance Center.
Literacy Partners, which serves 2,000 students annually, is expecting its usual half-million dollars in foundation money to drop by half.
The group lost a third of its endowment in the stock market crash. It has closed three of its centers, which serve mostly students who are reading at about a fifth-grade level.
