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COLUMBUS – The Columbus Elementary School’s Parent/Teacher Organization benefitted from the donations of Dollar General after the corporation delivered a $4 thousand grant to aid the school with supplies.
The money helped the school purchase additional decodable readers for their students that help readers practice phonetic patterns and words. The books supply students with decoding strategies for pronunciation to help develop their reading abilities.
The grant was given as the latest act of charity by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation in Colorado County. The foundation’s origins span 30 years of donations to libraries, schools and nonprofit organizations with the intent of increasing literacy for readers at a pre-high school level and for those learning English.
It was first established in 1993 by Cal Turner and his son of the same namesake to honor co-founder JL. Turner who achieved just a third-grade education as the son of a farmer. Their goal is to increase the average level of literacy and increase the availability of resources that would assist in that cause.
Part of the foundation’s research indicated a true issue. According to their findings, literacy is lacking in areas across the country as “more than 40 million adults score at or below the lowest levels of literacy.” The Center for Education Statistics defines people at this level as lacking the ability to use “printed and written information to function in society.”
In 2020, the National Assessment of Educational Progress issued a national report card that assessed the reading levels of graduating seniors across the country. The results from their sampling showed that 63 percent of 12th graders graduated without reaching a proficient reading level. Adult literacy is directly impacted by the reading levels of high school graduates as they enter the work force and participate as independent members of society.
By accepting the Dollar General Literacy Grant, Columbus Elementary has taken an active step to combat the country’s difficulties with literacy and reading comprehension by providing the resources needed to achieve proficiency from an early age.
