Description
Through family literacy scholarships and programs, the Barbara Bush Foundation makes it possible for families to enroll in adult and early childhood literacy classes together to develop the fundamental literacy skills they need to thrive and succeed. These programs have led to marked improvement in the academic areas of reading and writing skills, English language literacy, kindergarten readiness, GED completion and more.
Additionally, to accurately identify the greatest areas of need and opportunity for literacy and education programs, we partnered with Ann Bessell, Ph.D., Research Associate Professor at the University of Miami, to create a Family Literacy Gap Map of the United States. We are working to engage organizations, corporations, individuals and leaders to help close these gaps through awareness and support of family literacy programs.
Population Served
Poor/Economically Disadvantaged, Indigent, General / Female Adults / Children and Youth (infants - 19 years.)
Program Long-Term Success
We know our programs work, and we know we are cost effective, but we need to bring these efforts to scale. The Barbara Bush Scholarships now go to just 600 families, but we could serve hundreds of thousands more.
We need donors, sponsors, partners, advocates and new ideas to help us tackle America’s Biggest Challenge of illiteracy.
We’ve helped thousands of families but with more than 30 million functionally illiterate adults in America, the need for more programs far exceeds today’s resources. We have funds to support just one in six programs that apply.
Illiteracy IS America’s Biggest Challenge and we need your help. You can find more information at BarbaraBush.org.
Description
The Teen Trendsetters program offers an early intervention solution by utilizing cross-age peer mentoring, a method that has gained popularity due to its positive effects on both participants: mentor and mentee. The programs are led by teens (in grades 9-12) who begin a Teen Trendsetters program in their school, typically with about 15-20 other teens. The teens in the program serve as mentors to first and second graders who are struggling with reading and would benefit from extra assistance and guidance in a one-to-one mentoring relationship. The mentees are referred by their teachers and are typically six months or more behind their peers in reading.
By the end of the school year, the elementary students enrolled in our program gain an additional two months of reading skills as compared to students not mentored. The teens in our program also benefit. Most serve as mentors for more than one year and graduate on time, and 40 percent go on to select teaching as a career.
Population Served
Children Only (5 - 14 years) / Youth/Adolescents only (14 - 19 years) /