By Jennifer Cullenbine | CEO and Founder
We are so grateful for your support that enables us to provide low-income students with the tools they need to excel in the classroom. Thanks to your donation, you are able to inspire the joy of learning and give low-income students the foundational building blocks of education to build a brighter future. A challenge we face each year is getting enough books in our kindergarten through 5th grade backpacks.
Traditionally, many don’t think of reading as a STEM skill but studies show that low-income students are 2 years behind their affluent peers in reading and math skills by 3rd grade. And early reading skills have been marked as an indicator for future successes in STEM subjects. This achievement gap is yet another barrier to breaking the cycle of poverty. Lisa Mackintosh, a 5th grade teacher at Washington Elementary, knows firsthand the importance of having fluent readers, “When children cannot read, it affects everything, like math. You might think it’s just numbers, but [math] involves a lot of reading. If they struggle to read, they will struggle with math”.
As a part of our Back-to-School Drive for 2015, we are addressing this through our Books for Backpacks campaign during Silicon Valley Gives on May 5th and continuing May 6th through June 15thon Classy. To join the conversation follow us at @FGTTweets on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
By Jennifer Cullenbine | CEO and Founder
By Jennifer Cullenbine | CEO and Founder
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