FORT WAYNE (November 21, 2008) – United Way of Allen County, joined by representatives of the Allen County Education Partnership, Fort Wayne Community Schools, East Allen County Schools and many local organizations, today launched a ten-year reading initiative called Learn United.
Learn United is an effort to close the third grade reading achievement gap in Allen County within the next decade. United Way defines the reading gap as the difference between the
number of local third-graders who can read at grade level and those who cannot.
More than 1,000 third graders in Allen County fail to pass the ISTEP language test every year. Forty percent of all low-income local 3rd graders can't read at grade level.
"Third grade is a critical time for reading," said Jerry Peterson, president and CEO of United Way of Allen County. "Up until third grade, students are learning to read, after third grade, students read to learn."
Studies show that 74 percent of students who don't read at grade level by the end of third grade will never catch up. Many will go on to drop out of school or be incarcerated. Most will not be able to hold down good jobs.
"The economic consequences of illiteracy are profound," said Kris Foate, president of the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce. "American businesses spend more than $60 billion annually on employee training, much of that for remedial reading, writing, and mathematics. We must have a well-educated workforce if we are to attract new businesses and help our community thrive. Current corporate leaders are already dedicating time and money to help children and I encourage all local businesses to support Learn United."
Learn United has three components. The first focuses on pre-natal care or ensuring that children get a healthy start to life. The next is building early literacy skills. The last component is the school-age effort.
Learn United's school-age component will focus on recruiting thousands of area volunteers to work with struggling readers. Volunteers can visit www.learnunited.org to browse opportunities and register to work with children. All volunteers must agree to a background check and will receive all the training needed to be successful in working with children. Learn United is initially rolling out at four schools: Fort Wayne Community Schools' Waynedale and Brentwood elementary schools and East Allen County Schools' Village and Southwick elementary schools.
"We are excited to be a part of Learn United," said EACS Superintendent Dr. Kay Novotny. "Literacy really is a community issue and we need the support of the entire community to educate all of our children."
"We know that students perform better when they have multiple support systems helping them reach their goals," FWCS Superintendent Dr. Wendy Robinson said. "With strong schools, strong families and strong community support, our students will be successful."
Volunteers can sign up for a variety of activities in the classroom, including playing games such as alphabet bingo and memory, working at a literacy station, reading stories or working on letters and sounds. Volunteers will also be able to sign up for existing programs through FWCS Study Connection (after-school homework help), Big Brothers/Big Sisters Lunch Buddies (talking and reading over lunch), Allen County Education Partnership Project READS (K-3rd literacy tutoring) and homework help after school at the Neighborhood Action Center serving children in the Autumn Woods Apartments. In January, Learn United will partner with Scholastic to promote Real Men Read, a program that asks men to visit a classroom once a month. Additional opportunities will be added as the effort grows.
"We have a variety of volunteer opportunities," said Brian White, executive director of the Allen County Education Partnership, the agency charged with matching volunteers and children. "We have long-term and short-term opportunities. We have chances to work in the classroom, after school or over the lunch period. You can work with small groups of children or one on one. You don't need to be a reading expert, you just need to care about kids and our community." "United Way of Allen County has long been focused on helping our most vulnerable residents meet their basic needs – food, clothing and health care," said Irene Walters, United Way board chair. "Through Learn United, we are also focusing on long-term needs – giving people the skills needed to become self-sufficient. Our board knows goals such as eliminating the reading gap cannot happen overnight. That's why we have committed ourselves to Learn United for ten years. We are determined to get this accomplished."
United Way of Allen County modeled Learn United after a similar effort in Madison, Wisconsin. In less than ten years, Madison's United Way and local residents closed the reading gap through efforts similar to those being put in place in Fort Wayne.
"We know this can work," said Jerry Peterson, "and we know that it's absolutely critical that we make it work here in our community. We ask everyone to do what they can – give, advocate or volunteer – to ensure all our children can read."
The first three years of Learn United will be funded by a grant from the Indiana Association of United Ways. United Way will seek additional grant money and private donations after the first three years.
Contact: Mary Tyndall, United Way 422.4776 or 341.7427 (cell)
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On Thursday, January 8, 2009, 47 men attended an informational meeting at the Fort Wayne Urban League for Real Men Read, part of United Way’s Learn United, a community effort to close the 3rd grade reading gap. It was an impressive representation of our community, and those who attended were excited and ready to take part. 
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