As part of its strategic focus on literacy and improved reading skills, Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools is teaming up with United Way of the Coastal Empire for Read United!  Read United is a year-round series of programs that aim to improve early language and childhood literacy for all children in Bryan, Chatham, Effingham, and Liberty counties.

The most visible of these programs is Read United Day on Friday, February 24, 2023, and will place community leaders and volunteers in classrooms to read to over 16,000 children across our four-county footprint in Pre-K through 2nd Grades. On this day, United Way volunteers and community leaders will read and give books to over 19,000 children in the region. This initiative seeks to place books in the home of every child in Pre-K through second grade in our region. The program focuses on children in these lower grade levels because we recognize that an early response to the literacy gap that exists in homes of many low-income households can enable children in these homes to succeed.

Reading proficiency and literacy is vital to the success of our community. Children with reading difficulties are more likely to experience health and behavioral problems, teen pregnancy, premature departures from school, trouble sustaining employment, and even poverty. Through Read United, we seek to increase opportunities for achievement and brighter futures for all by ensuring that children reach important language milestones.
61% of low-income families do not have any books in their homes in the United States.
3rd grade students who are not proficient in reading by the end of the year are four times more likely to drop out of high school.
66% of children in the state of Georgia are below a proficient reading level.
By age 10, a child’s path to success is determined by their reading proficiency.