Third graders in elementary schools all over Cincinnati have another reason to look up the heroes in their community.
It all started after Officer Donald Jordan learned that the proficiency reading test that his third-grade son would be taking would determine more than whether or not he would be going to the fourth grade. The statistics from the reading test are also used to gauge the occupancy of prisons in the future.
Officer Jordan quickly realized that the 15 minutes a night that he spent reading with his son was an advantage that his son’s peers might not have. From there, Officer Jordan started the Right to Read tutoring program in which other police officers and volunteers are fighting crime, increasing students’ success and confidence through literacy.
The last four years have shown that the Right to Read program has made a great difference in test scores and in the community. Matthew Mauric told WCPO, “I think it’s one of the best ways that we can improve our relations with the community, is to reach out to the younger generation and show them we’re not here just to take someone to jail, just to put a Band-Aid over a solution. We’re here to try to never create a problem in the first place.”
The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, and others have joined the officers to partner with the program and send volunteers to help tutor students as well.
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