Juneau Report: Can An Elementary School Initiative Teach The Legislature?

Governor Michael Dunleavy R-Alaska unveiled the Alaska Reads Act which focuses on enhancing interventions for struggling students.

Governor Dunleavy says, "We have a moral imperative to ensure that our young people can read at a skill level - at a level- that is going to help them advance through school but also advance through life, give them hope, give them opportunities and set them on a course for a productive happy life.”

Reading is an issue that everyone seems to wrap their arms around. Senator Tom Begich noted that kicking off the Alaska Reads Act starts this session on a footing that many in the legislature fund unfamiliar - learning to be united.

Alaska State Senator Tom Begich D-Anchorage says, "Oftentimes you see when people disagree they model their reaction to that disagreement by saying angry words to each other. We are doing the opposite today. We are modeling a different kind of behavior - that if we work together we can achieve things that make a difference for everybody in the State of Alaska."

Learn-United is a lesson that has already been adopted in Juneau.  The Juneau School District and Coeur Alaska-Kensington Mine partnered with the United Way to set up the Learn United Reading Tutor program.  This public-private-non-profit partnership provides resources that target eight and nine-year-olds - boosting efforts to get them reading at the third-grade level.

Studies have found that if students haven't mastered reading by fourth grade they fall behind in every subject.  Only one out of five low-income students have mastered this important milestone and become confident successful readers.  Those who do are four times more likely to graduate high school on time.

Here in Juneau, the program is sponsored by a gold mine that finds a community of strong readers a good investment.

Jan Trigg/Coeur Alaska

Jan Trigg/Coeur Alaska says, "It determines their successful future and that helps the community, it helps up gaining employees."

It doesn't take much to make a difference. A recent study found that students who started the year as struggling readers and ended at or above benchmark averaged reading just six minutes more a day than those who failed.  You don't need a gold mine to have a successful program.

Jan Trigg/Coeur Alaska says, "It's been really great having community involvement. One of those has been the Coast Guard. They have taken a real interest in reaching out to their people and getting them involved in being tutors."

The Nation's Report Card ranked Alaska dead-last for the second year in a row for fourth grade reading performance.