United Way gives schools helping hand to close achievement gap

A trial program to improve academic performance and test scores in Waukegan elementary schools may soon be copied in Round Lake Unit District 116.

The United Way of Lake County has launched "Youth Success," an initiative being tested this year at four high-poverty, low-achievement Waukegan schools, officials said.

The program, funded by individual and corporate donors, aims to narrow the reading achievement gap between low-income students and students from middle- and upper-income communities such as Libertyville, a difference of nearly 40 percent, agency officials say.

If the Waukegan trial is successful, the program will later be expanded to Round Lake, North Chicago and Zion schools.

What these communities have in common are a high percentage of low-income children, high minority population, and low reading scores, said Michelle Crombie, United Way of Lake County vice president of community development.

"I don't want to paint a complete doom and gloom picture, but when we are looking at less than 70 percent of the children reading at grade level, that's not good enough," she said.

The program's goal is to increase the number of fourth-grade students who meet or exceed Illinois testing standards.

Educators and school administrators say students who master literacy by third or fourth grade have a better chance of succeeding in higher grades, earn a high school diploma and pursue further education.

"Youth Success" is an extension of an existing United Way program dubbed "Success by 6," for preschool-age children in the Waukegan and Round Lake area to prepare them for kindergarten.

"I think for districts like ours and Waukegan, which don't necessarily have the resources to do the kinds of things that we'd like to do, the volunteer spirit of the United Way can then kind of pick up," said District 116 CEO Ben Martindale. "I think it has potential to be a real successful support for our families and our students."

As part of "Youth Success", United Way will help provide what the students need most: clothing, books, school supplies and teacher support materials. The program also offers workshops designed to educate parents of low-performing students on how to support their child's learning at home.

"The kinds of things that kids need to succeed, they are all kind of universal," Crombie said. "They need to see hope for the future. They need some sort of career development because studies show that a child makes up their mind, even though they may not know it, whether to succeed or not as early as sixth grade."

United Way volunteers also will take on building improvements at the schools, and the agency will recruit and train community volunteers to provide extra reading help to students who are falling behind.