COLUMBIA – Organizations in Columbia are working together to improve the racial disparity in early grade literacy.
In 2021, 9% of Black third grade students in Columbia Public Schools tested advanced or proficient on the Language Arts section of the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP) test, compared to 49% of white students, according to the Boone Indicators Dashboard.
The dashboard separates results of the MAP test by race and socioeconomics.
Black students in CPS are more than “two and a half times less likely to score proficient or advanced on the assessment compared to white students,” the dashboard states.
Community stakeholders say students struggle with learning if they do not have a foundation of reading by the time they are in the third grade.
Many organizations, including Central Missouri Community Action (CMCA), Heart of Missouri United Way and the Upward Mobility Project, are working together to offer direct resources to CPS families to bridge the gap.
Andrew Grabau, CEO and president of Heart of Missouri United Way, said students’ reading test scores dropped after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Prior to the pandemic, that level in Columbia was at 45%. So in other words, 45% of our kids were reading at an advanced or proficient level,” Grabau said. “Post-pandemic, that trend has dropped by 8 percentage points, to 37%, which shows that during the pandemic, our kids actually fell behind in advancing their reading skills especially that entry level cohort of first and second grade students.”
Nikki Carter, a mother of two CPS students, said she isn’t surprised to learn that literacy rates decreased after the pandemic.
“Especially with parents who the media labeled essential workers in the beginning, that didn’t have a job where they could transition to home and work remotely and be there to somewhat help their children,” Carter said.
Grabau said he knows external factors play a large role in a child’s reading proficiency.
“It’s not just about reading, but it might be about food, it might be about security at their home, it might be about actually having a stable home,” Grabau said. “And so we take that holistic approach, when we look at investing in the community and supporting our kids.”
Although Boone County has a strong pool of existing available resources, Grabau says families don’t always have the time or means to utilize them.
“It’s about getting families to connect and to feel like they can access those. When we talk about systemic changes, if we have the resources in place, but families are not utilizing them, or kids are not utilizing them, then there’s an issue with the system in place,” Grabau said.
As a member of the Upward Mobility Project board, Grabau said he’s hopeful that this new project can increase literacy scores.
Boone County is one of eight counties that’s receiving financial support from the Urban Institute to fund its own Upward Mobility Project. The project allows Boone County to develop a mobility action plan to reduce disparities.
One of the project’s initial priorities is to improve disparities of literacy scores at third grade.
“We’re developing a couple of key ways of trying to look at the scope of the problem and how we as a community can create different systemic changes around early grade literacy to help advance upward mobility with our kids,” Grabau said.
Verna Laboy, manager of the Upward Mobility Project, said one of those key changes is implementing a centralized location for families and community members to access resources for early grade literacy.
“There isn’t one place where you can go,” Laboy said.
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The Upward Mobility team has also started developing a website for the Upward Mobility Project, Laboy said.
“You’ll have all of the minutes of the meetings, you can stay connected. Transparency is very important,” Laboy said. “We’re working at building a prototype of current resources and communities that families can access in order to support their children at home.
She said she’s excited about what CPS is launching internally.
“They’re starting to pivot and shift and do some things inside differently,” Laboy said. “Upward Mobility will collaborate and work with them. There’ll be a common language.”
CPS Superintendent Dr. Brian Yearwood said the district is examining every student’s Lexile, or reading level, and notifying parents.
“Then we talk to them [parents] about ways and means we can improve upon that Lexile level,” Yearwood said. “It’s a huge initiative for us. We are just getting started with it, but the expectation is that we see our scholars working on their literacy at home, with their parents, and just engaging in that arena and it’s going to be across Columbia, that’s the beauty about it.”
The community must work together in order to bridge the gap, Laboy says.
“Sometimes, many pieces have to work together simultaneously in order to move a family forward, not just one area. It’s very complicated. It’s deep. It has to happen on many levels,” Laboy said. “We’re stepping out and working with organizations that have never worked together before. If we’re going to win in Boone County, it’s because we’re doing it together. We’re better together.”
Bailey Stock works for CMCA and said the organization is working with the Upward Mobility Project to help turn the curve.
“On our CMCA website, we host a resource guide,” Stock said. “I offered the work group to just host an early grade literacy directory, just to have a guide that parents or other social service agencies can go to and just be able to find those resources quickly. Because accessibility is just one of the first ways to tackle this issue.”
Through research, United Way discovered that an individual who reads 20 minutes outside of a classroom every day demonstrates better reading proficiency.
“We recognized that there were opportunities to engage kids in different ways so we started our Read Across Columbia,” Grabau said.
Read Across Columbia focuses on placing books in the hands of kids who are in marginalized areas. Students receive a library card, a coupon for a free book at the library and additional materials like notepads and pencils. In total, around 3,000 books are distributed to five elementary schools, Grabau said.
“There is an equitable barrier in who has access to books, and who has access to books that individuals can identify with,” Grabau said. “Read Across Columbia focuses on providing not only books to families, but also having books that drive positive messages that have characters of color. Characters that students can identify with.”
Carter is also a member of the United Way and said her daughters enjoy reading books that resonate with them.
“I am very intentional about them finding authors that look like them and stories that tell experiences that they can relate to,” Carter said. “When they can see themselves in a book, that makes them want to explore more.”
Laboy said the Upward Mobility Project’s goal is to encourage more community members to work together to support Columbia families.
“Many parents need help and support with educating their kids,” Laboy said. “They’re out here working two and three jobs right now to keep afloat or try to stay housed.”
The Upward Mobility Project priorities were set based off of a research brief. The program started its work in 2021.
Because the Upward Mobility Project is only in its second year, it’s difficult to see improvements now. Grabau said the interventions happening now will be reflected in next year’s MAP test results, which is typically taken in April in the CPS district.