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Temple Beth El Blog

Literacy Tutors Needed

12/31/2024 10:22:47 AM

Dec31

Across the country, civil rights leaders in leading organizations like the NAACP are calling out literacy as a civil rights issue. They recognize that literacy is critical to addressing racial disparities and closing the achievement gap in both education and economic opportunity. Here in Wisconsin, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings, esteemed UW School of Education professor emeritus, states emphatically that if we as a society want to address racial disparities, we must work together to teach Black children to read. In the Madison Metropolitan School District, only 35% of all children read at grade level, while the percentage for African American children is only 10%.  
 
To help address this critical need, the TBE Racial Justice Action Team is working to improve and increase the number of volunteer reading tutors in the Madison area. With the state legislature now requiring all Wisconsin school districts to return to a phonics-focused curriculum to teach reading, there are many opportunities for committed adults to work with students who need extra help. TBE volunteers have been trained or are being trained to work with students in MMSD schools, at the Goodman Center’s after-school program, and at One City Schools, where 90% of the students are students of color.  

If you are interested in learning more, please reach out to Betsy Abramson at betsyabramson@gmail.com or 608-332-7867.

April 30, 2025 2 Iyar 5785