Elementary & Middle School Readiness

The Junior League of Ann Arbor, Inc. has identified Elementary & Middle School Readiness as a community impact area which its members can positively affect. The current Focus Issue is “Reading by the Third Grade” which aims to improve MSTEP Reading Scores in underserved communities — a recognized predictor for future success.

JLAA uses the AJLI Issue-Based Community Impact Model to identify areas of community need. This model stimulates deeper community impact, creates a more engaged Junior League network around community issues, and builds quality learning experiences for members. This issue-based approach intentionally and purposefully seeks to address pressing challenges or opportunities in the community as opposed to episodic projects that have no significant relationship to altering a particular condition.

Our Goal: The Junior League of Ann Arbor is committed to improving the reading proficiency of economically disadvantaged children in Washtenaw County** schools by 2024, as measured by the 3rd grade M-STEP* English Language Arts test.

What We’re Doing: The Junior League of Ann Arbor is excited to launch our first community partnership with the Children’s Literacy Network. Together, JLAA and CLN design and implement Family Literacy Interactive Programs or “FLIP” Nights at local elementary schools. These programs promote literacy through interactive games, giveaways, and parent programming which emphasizes the importance of early literacy for future success.

How We Measure Success:
Based on 2017 data, which indicates 24% reading proficiency among economically disadvantaged Washtenaw County 3rd graders.  The Junior League of Ann Arbor will work closely with local organizations to achieve a total increase of 5% in proficiency by 2024.

 

* M-STEP is the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress; given online to students in grades 3-8; measures current knowledge of academic standards in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies.
** Washtenaw County includes 9 school districts; Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Manchester, Milan, Saline, Whitmore Lake, and Ypsilanti.
***Targeted school districts: Ann Arbor (26%) school district, Ypsilanti (21%) school district, or Charter schools are where 71% of the economically disadvantaged students in Washtenaw County attend school.