Help a child learn to read

Aperçu:

The Power to Achieve Bursary will provide funds for learning disabled children from low-income families between the ages of 5 and 17 with little or no literacy and/or numeracy skills to receive remedial tutoring. We want to ensure that all children regardless of financial status can receive the help they require to feel a sense of competency. Given our location in East Vancouver many of the children that access our programs and services are from low-income, single parent households. Without our bursary program and the generous support of businesses like yourself, the families would not be able to afford the specialized help their child requires. All tutoring is done on a one to one basis and program fees are kept to a minimum. We currently work with four local elementary schools to provide free specialized remedial tutoring for the children who are mentally exhausted at the end of the day. $50, 000 will allow 22 children to receive remedial tutoring for a year. Most people are unaware of why kids with learning problems need after-school tutoring outside of the regular public school system. Think about this, if you are a principal of a school and have a child enrolled who presents with a behavior problem you will receive an additional $9200 per child/year from the Ministry of Education – this money is to be used to provide extra supports/services that enable the child to succeed academically. If you have a child with autism you receive $18,300; if you have a child with a learning disability you receive $0. So this means that if you are a parent of a child who is, let’s say, in grade 3 and can’t read your only alternative is to find help for him outside the public school system. Okay, so what happens if we don’t help kids with learning disabilities? Large percentages develop mental health issues such as anxiety disorders due to lack of supports for their disability – many end up in jail. Here are some examples of what happens when we don’t help: • 75% of children with reading disabilities in grade 3 who did not receive early intervention, continue to have difficulties learning to read throughout high school and their adult life. • Research shows that up to 70% of young offenders have experienced learning problems. In the past 20 years, the link between learning disabilities and delinquent behaviour has been examined and confirmed in both Canada and the US; • Almost 50% of adolescent suicides had previously been diagnosed as having learning disabilities – many of these young lives could have been saved.