Serving At Risk Youth Through a $5,000 Better World Books Grant

We are thrilled to have received the Better World Books Literacy Grant for $5,000!  With it we were able to provide SEA Manchester and SEA South Gate, two charter schools that serve low-income and at-risk teens in LA, four Reading & Rhythm program classes.  Thirty nine students participated in the program.  Students that were pre and post tested raised their scores, on average 42% and 1/3 of those students went up 4-5 grade levels.  Some students went from a 2nd grade reading level to 7th grade reading level! 

Hearing the words "Who wants to read," or "Akira, read this," I would shut down.  Words I knew became just letters on a page up until Mr. Rob came to my school.  He told me it's nothing to be scared of, and that the program was different.  Its more than just reading and, at first, I sat out of the meetings, for two sessions.  But I tried it ,and day after day I slowly liked it and practiced at home.  Now I can read smooth, not choppy.   

Akira Brown

SEA Manchester

We are very grateful to all persons involved with helping us to secure this grant and providing this outreach, as well as those supporters who got the vote out for our Reading & Rhythm program. 

Reading & Rhythm classes provide at risk youth, children with Dyslexia, ADHD,  High Functioning Autism, trauma, and those struggling to read, the gift of learning how to read through rhythm using a multisensory approach.  We hope to continue to make classes available at juvenile halls, detention camps, probation centers and in after school programs for the benefit of all.  Many thanks to Better World Books for helping us reach more children and give them more tools to improve their literacy.