Michael Collier/EdSource

Children sing at result marking efforts to boost student reading proficiency in San Mateo County.

Michael Collier/EdSource

Children sing at result marking efforts to boost student reading proficiency in San Mateo Canton.

A California county in the heart of Silicon Valley on Midweek launched an ambitious plan to better prepare preschool-aged students for reading so that they can achieve proficiency past 3rd grade.

In San Mateo Canton, home totechnology company heavyweights such every bit Oracle and Genentech, 43 percent of third-graders are falling behind in reading, according to standardized examination scores. Many of those students are from depression-income families that are non part of the tech nail and who often can't beget to transport their children to preschool programs.

Falling behind in reading at an early on age is significant because research shows that children who read significantly below grade level by tertiary grade will continue to struggle in school and are at college risk of dropping out later.

To aid close that gap, county leaders launched a campaign – dubbed "The Big Lift" – that officials said will essentially expand preschool programs and curb chronic absence among immature students by sending parents text letters that reinforce the importance of their children'south classroom attendance. The programme as well includes the cosmos of "inspiring" educational programs during the summer months that aim to maintain bookish gains from preschool through the early grades.

Officials said the campaign, which has the collaborative back up of 200 organizations, is among the commencement in the nation to specifically focus on those goals.

The projection is beingness funded by a voter-approved, half-cent increase in the county's sales tax rate, private money and federal grants, for a full so far of $28 million. Simply it will need $fifty million a yr to sustain all programs at full chapters, canton officials said.

On Wednesday, groups involved in the campaign announced that the start grants – totaling $4.3 1000000 – will go to 4 schoolhouse districts in the canton: Cabrillo Unified in Half Moon Bay, the Jefferson Elementary commune in Daly City, South San Francisco Unified and La Honda-Pescadero Unified.

Anne Campbell, superintendent of the San Mateo County Office of Education, said the project began two years ago and relies on the collaboration betwixt county authorities officials and those from the county'southward 23 school districts.

"The local communities let united states know what they needed," Campbell said. Improving reading proficiency amidst young students is imperative, she added, particularly given that 65 per centum of Latino, African-American and Pacific Islander students are not reading proficiently by 3rd grade, according to standardized test scores.

Without improving its students' reading skills, San Mateo County is "losing the children nosotros need to assist us move forwards in the knowledge economy," Campbell said.

Under the plan, school districts will partner with preschools – individual and public – and customs-based agencies to work toward the goal of ensuring fourscore percent of tertiary-graders countywide are reading proficiently.

Elizabeth Schuck, acquaintance superintendent of Cabrillo Unified, said the Half Moon Bay community is home to wealthy tech executives and depression-paid migrant workers, many with children whohave not attended preschool programs. The canton'due south grant will make it possible for those children, and other children in the county, to receive 2 years of preschool.

The grants appear Wednesday volition help the Jefferson Elementary district past creating 40 new preschool slots, Superintendent Bernie Vidales said. Due south San Francisco Metropolis Manager Mike Futrell said Genentech, which is based in the city, plans to build a 6,000-square-human foot science lab for South San Francisco Unifiedstudents.

Key partners in San Mateo County's "The Big Lift" campaign include First v San Mateo County, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the RAND Corporation.

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