Success Starts With Reading
Monday, May 17, 2010

Annie E. Casey Foundation: Make Reading by the End of Third Grade a National Priority

MEDIA ADVISORY

Contact: May 17, 2010

Patricia Enright Kaplan, (202) 842-3600, Ext. 249; pekaplan@hagersharp.com

Sue Lin Chong, (410) 223-2836

media@aecf.org http://www.aecf.org/readingmatters.aspx.

Two out of every three fourth graders overall are not proficient in reading according to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress.  Worse, four of five fourth graders from low-income families are also not proficient in reading.  The failure to help children from low-income families reach this milestone cements educational failure and poverty into the next generation.  The Annie E. Casey Foundation is focusing attention on the critical importance of achieving grade-level reading proficiency for all children by the end of third grade.  The ability to read is central to a child’s success in school, life-long earning potential, and the ability to contribute to the nation’s economy and its security.

What:  The Annie E. Casey Foundation is focusing attention on the importance of achieving grade-level reading   proficiency for all children by the end of third grade with the release of a KIDS COUNT special report, Early Warning! Why Reading by the End of Third Grade Matters at a press conference and panel discussion with support from national organizations including representatives from America’s Promise Alliance, United Way Worldwide, and Mission: Readiness.

When:  Tuesday, May 18, 2010 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. EDT 

Live Webcast: To register for the webcast, please visit www.visualwebcaster.com/casey-foundation-briefing. You are encouraged to perform a computer system check when you register, or at least 15 minutes before the webcast begins. To access the webcast, use the same computer on which you registered, and click on the same registration link noted above to enter the event.  

Who:  The Annie E. Casey Foundation representatives President & CEO Patrick McCarthy, Executive Vice President Ralph Smith, and former President & CEO Douglas W. Nelson will be joined by:

          o Michael L. Eskew,  the Annie E. Casey Foundation Board Chair and former CEO of UPS
          o Alma J. Powell, Chair,  America’s Promise Alliance
          o Stacey D. Stewart, Executive Vice President, Center of Community Impact Leadership & Learning, United Way Worldwide
          o Brigadier General Velma Richardson, United States Army (Ret.), Mission: Readiness
          o Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning, U.S. Department of Education
          o Roberto Rodriguez, Special Assistant to the President for Education, White House Domestic Policy Council
          o Yolie Flores, Board Vice President, Los Angeles United School District
          o Elizabeth P. Garza, Ph.D., Superintendent, Edgewood Independent School District, San Antonio, TX
          o Lillian M. Lowery, Ed.D., Secretary of Education, Delaware Department of Education
          o B.J. Walker, Commissioner,  Georgia Department of Human Services
          o Timothy K. Webb, Ph.D., Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Education
          o And moderator Michel Martin of NPR’s “Tell Me More.”