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Local News - September 2002 |
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Many area children not ready for kindergarten By AL DOZIER, LTN Staff Writer September 13, 2002 - Chances are your child won’t be ready for kindergarten by age 6. According to the latest statistics on children entering kindergarten from Lincoln and Gaston Counties, some 43 percent are not. Such numbers gave rise to Lincoln and Gaston’s Success By 6 programs for adults who can help pre-kindergartners succeed by doing something as simple as reading to them. “Our mission is to insure that every single child is prepared to enter school by the time they reach kindergarten,” program director Melinda Lowery told members of the Lincolnton Rotary Club on Monday. Some of the statistics she cited paint a bleak picture for the future of many children in Gaston and Lincoln County. · 34 percent of fourth-graders are not proficient in reading or math · Almost 11,000 children 17 years or younger live in poverty · 40 percent of children ages 0 to 5 receive food stamps Lowery said the secret to overcoming struggles in schools is to prepare a child earlier. “We know that when a child is struggling when he enters school, he continues to struggle throughout out school,” she said. The Success by 6 program has chosen a reading initiative as the best way to get a child ready for kindergarten. Why reading? “It has a great impact in stimulating a child and it promotes interaction between an adult and child,” she said. Lowery wants volunteers to read to a child every day during the pre-kindergarten years. You can also help by donating books to families that don’t have books around, or to area day care centers. It’s an investment that usually pays off, she said. Investing in early childhood intellectual development results in kids who are: · 50 percent more likely to attend college · 50 percent more likely to be employed · 50 percent less like to be-come teen parents · 40 percent less likely to be jailed ————— If you would like to volunteer to read to a child in a child care center, call the United Way Volunteer Center at 704-865-0820.
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© 2001 Lincoln Times-News |
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