Help a Child!
Make a Difference!
Become a Reading Coach!
“The Zip code where a child starts out should not determine
where they end up. Changing the odds, one child at a time. Poverty is the primary source of poor reading scores. Todos Santos is a privately funded non-profit created to help disadvantaged children break the cycle of poverty through
early education.”
CAN YOU READ THIS?
Millions of Children Can't
We’re not talking about some
Third World Country.
We are talking about the United States.
In America…
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1 in 4 children grows up without learning to read.
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In California, 50% of our children are unable to read at grade level.
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In many low income neighborhoods, the number is 80%.
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The majority of these children are from low income backgrounds.
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These numbers have not improved in 20 years.
Todos Santos is working to change the odds...one child at a time.
POVERTY IS THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF CHILD ILLITERACY
A society must be judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members—its children. The "State of America’s Children" 2020 makes it abundantly clear that by this measure, America is falling shamefully short*.
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The number of low-income students more than doubled between the 2000 and 2013.
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Trapped in inequitable schools, low-income students suffer academically. More than 70 percent of low-income eighth grade students were not proficient in reading or math in 2019.
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More than 60% of low-income families have no children’s books in their home.
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More than 50% of low-income fourth graders score below basic level on national literacy assessments compared to just 20% of their more affluent peers.
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Children living in poverty who can’t read at grade level by the end of third grade are 13 times less likely to graduate high school with their more affluent peers.
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As these children progress through school they fall further and further behind, until they run out of time to catch up.
*savethechildren.org
WHO WE ARE
Todos Santos is a privately funded 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization created to…help disadvantaged children…break the cycle of poverty…through early education.
Most of our children are from low income backgrounds, performing in the bottom quartile of their classes, needing help to avoid falling even further behind.
We are a ‘team’ of teachers, mentors, volunteers, and donors, working together to change the odds for as many children as we can through early education.
We do this by offering Early Learning Programs in low income neighborhoods at no cost to disadvantaged children and English learners.
‘Open books…Open doors’
Dream Big*
Read!
WHAT WE DO
We offer Early Literacy Programs at no cost to underprivileged children and English learners.
We offer our Programs using accredited teachers supported by college students and others who we hire and train as ‘Literacy Coaches’.
Due to the lack of basic reading skills of many of the children who come to us much of our initial effort is devoted to teaching phonics.
Many of the children who come to us have little or no exposure to science. For this reason, much of the materials we use are science-based. We endeavor to combine ‘fun science’ with our reading instruction.
Our objective is to close the gap between our less fortunate children and their more affluent peers…one child at a time.
HOW WE DO IT
Our model targets the unique learning needs of low income children and English learners. Our classes are small, generally 12 or fewer students per class.
We hire accredited teachers and support them with college students and others who we hire and train as Reading Coaches.
This enables us to break down our classes into even smaller groups, often 4 students per Instructor. This model is specially designed to free up the teacher to devote special attention to individual students she sees struggling with a particular concept.
Our unique model and curriculum have been developed with the help of an award winning educator* with many years experience teaching struggling children to read in some of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles.
* Martha Garibay, our Curriculum Advisor, was selected Teacher of the Year for Los Angeles twice from over 25,000 teachers.
WHY WE DO IT
Helping struggling children learn to read is our first priority.
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50% of American adults cannot read a book written at an eighth-grade level.
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50% of students fail the California Standards Test in reading, year after year.
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85% of juvenile offenders struggle to read.
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60% of people in prison can’t read
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75% of people on welfare can’t read (1).
Our Goal is to close the literacy gap between disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers…one child at a time.
(1) Sources: National Institute for Literacy, National Center for Adult Literacy, The Literacy Company, U.S. Census Bureau,
CAN YOU READ THIS?
Small Group Learning
https://www.hmhco.com/blog/strategies-for-small-group-reading-instruction
In California classrooms large class size is one of the major impediments to learning for children who need additional attention and practice. California schools teachers have no time to devote individual attention to individual students. If a child fails to get a particular concept she simply falls behind.
Our small group learning model utilizing Reading Coaches enables us to break down our already small classes into even smaller groups of 4 students each. This model is specially designed to free up the teacher to devote individual attention to individual students she sees struggling with a particular concept.
Teaching children in small groups allows for a more intimate setting where students feel greater confidence in participating, and enable the instructor to observe students more closely and focus more on meeting particular needs of individual students.
Evidence demonstrates that teaching struggling students in small groups leads to significantly greater learning gains. https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-literacy/should-reading-be-taught-whole-class-or-small-group
SMALL GROUP LEARNING
Help us to make a difference in the life of a child.
BECOMING A READING COACH
Providing Early Learning Programs to disadvantaged students is expensive. But the cost of not providing these programs is much greater.
Donate today to help students in neighborhoods with limited access to well-funded learning and enrichment programs gain access to the resources available to their more affluent peers in middle and upper class neighborhoods.
Use the payment method below.
