The Bookshelf Project Inc

OUR MISSION  

The Bookshelf Project's mission is to cultivate an early love for books, reading, and life-long learning from birth thru age 12 by creating in-home libraries for children and improving access to culturally responsive books to support literacy attainment.

OUR VISION 

Closing the reading achievement gap and ensuring that all children, especially, Black and Brown children are prepared to succeed in school and everyday life.

WHY IN-HOME LIBRARIES MATTER

Literacy research indicates: 

• Children growing up in homes with at least twenty books get three years more schooling than children from bookless homes, independent of their parent's education, occupation, and class.

• Early literacy encompasses all of a child’s experiences with conversations, stories (oral and written), books, and print.

• The nurturing and one-on-one attention from parents during reading aloud encourages children to form a positive association with books and reading later in life.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: STATE OF EARLY LITERACY HIGHLIGHTS

Data from School Year 2019-2021

At-risk students have lost 4 months of learning in reading due to COVID.

Achievement gaps are growing in DC, and at-risk students are falling significantly behind.

Early literacy proficiency declined for students in grades K-2.

For School Year 2019-2020, 48% of at-risk students were reading far below proficient.

For school year 2020-2021 63.38% of at-risk students were reading far below proficient.

(Source: Empower K12; COVID 19’s Impact of Student Achievement and Academic Growth in DC) 

1. Fewer elementary and middle school students in the District are on track to pass standardized exams in math this academic year and literacy has dropped significantly among the city’s youngest learners.
2. Forty-two percent of students are on track to pass PARCC reading exams, which is on par with where students were at this point last year. Some student groups are expected to improve on reading assessments but passing rates for Black students and children who are part of low-income families are expected to fall.
3. Literacy among students in kindergarten through second grade has also plummeted. Thirty-six percent of the 5,100 children who took early literacy assessments this fall were considered proficient in reading, a 12-percentage point drop from last year, according to the report.
4. Data released by D.C. Public Schools showed fewer students in kindergarten through second grade were meeting expectations in early literacy, with Black and Latino students falling behind faster than white children. 

(DEC 17, 2020, (https://dcist.com/story/20/12/17/dc-students-learning-loss-behind-math-readhing-literacy-pandemic-covid/)