Importance of Literacy

"We moved here from Cuba when I was in the first grade, and by the second grade I had learned to read pretty well. Now I am teaching my parents to read in English."
Jose, former Hillsborough Reads participant

The ability to read is the best predictor of future academic success. Students who fall below grade level in as early as third grade are at serious risk of dropping out of school in future grades.  To help students achieve academic success, the Hillsborough Education Foundation administers Hillsborough Reads, an early intervention reading program for struggling readers in grades K-3.  Hillsborough Reads has an impressive record of bringing students to grade level or above in one year or less, and has benefited thousands of students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.

• Struggling readers receive 1.5 hours of tutoring a week from AmeriCorps tutors trained in the Building Better Readers curriculum.
• Hillsborough Reads has benefited thousands of students in Hillsborough County Public Schools.
• The $60,000 cash match for this program leverages more than $200,000 in Federal funding and in-kind support.