Los Angeles Literacy Project: Many Young People Have Somehow Fallen Through Educational Cracks

The mission of ABC-Learn, Inc. is to take actions that will have a positive effect on society as a whole by aiding the individual. Our goal is to have literate, productive members of society who recognize their value as a member of the whole and who are able to achieve their individual goals in a manner that is beneficial to all.

(PRWEB) October 3, 2005 -- Los Angeles Literacy Project: Unfortunately, due to a number of varying factors in todays society, many young people have somehow fallen through the educational cracks and find themselves in a situation where they are unable to read. Research has shown that many of these youths end up in our correctional facilities. Research has further shown that when taught to read, recidivism is tremendously lowered. California currently ranks second from last in literacy nationwide and Los Angeles ranks at the bottom in California. This problem permeates the entire culture impacting all levels of society and generally lowering the standard of living for all of Californias many diverse residents due to juvenile violence and poverty, both of which have a direct correlation to illiteracy. Empirical evidence indicates that one of the primary factors in criminal behavior is illiteracy.

Los Angeles County has the largest juvenile probation department in the entire world, processing approximately 41,000 juvenile referrals per year. The majority of those juveniles who are detained have a reading level below the third grade level while the age range is 12 to 18 years. Additionally, all juveniles are in the grade level appropriate to their age irrespective of their abilities. Thus, when they attend school, they attend classes which present curriculum appropriate to the grade level irrespective of their individual academic capabilities. This program also incorporates vocabulary building, spelling and enunciation skills. Not only is this program successful with English speaking juveniles, but also has proven to be successful with juveniles whose primary language is not English. We have a very positive relationship with the teachers and the probation officers in the various facilities where our programs are located and our program has proven to have a positive effect on not only the students academic abilities but on their behavior as well. Students are referred to us by the teachers, the probation officers or self-referral. Our testing has continually indicated that our students are able to raise their reading skills by approximately one grade level for every ten hours in the program.

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