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accessHealthNews.net
September 2025
Volume 11 | Issue No. 100
"There can be no equity, no social justice,
without literacy." —Kareem Weaver
Decades of research have proven that
teaching a child to read in the earliest
elementary school grades is a crucial
indicator of future success in school and
life. Failing to do so can have devastating
personal and societal consequences. Low
literacy rates are linked to higher poverty
rates, lower educational attainment, and
increased likelihood of incarceration.
The webinar "Equity Through Early
Literacy Webinar: The Foundations of
Early Reading as a Tool for Equity," hosted
by the Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education,
discussed barriers to providing high-quality,
evidence-based early literacy foundations
and explored solutions to ensure more
equitable reading outcomes for all
students.
Why early literacy matters
Researchers at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill examined the
relationship between early literacy and a
range of later social outcomes. They found
direct correlations between a solid literacy
foundation by the fourth grade and how
those same students navigated life in their
late teens and early 20s.
"If we're not allowing all students to have access to high-quality
grade-level literature and text, how are they ever going to learn how
to read and respond and think? If we never give students the chance to
get there, then quite frankly they never will."
READ MORE
- Jennifer Hogan,
K-6 ELA humanities curriculum coordinator of the
Pentucket (Massachusetts) Regional School District
