Best Buddies

According to Advance Illinois’ “The State We’re In,” 35% of fourth grade students in Illinois are reading at grade-level, with only 20% low-income fourth grade students meeting proficiency. Students who do not read proficiently at grade level fall further behind across all academic subjects and become less likely to graduate. Furthermore, according to the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research, the widening gap in reading scores between white and minority elementary grade students in Chicago is larger than national trends.

As of the 2018-2019 school year, 77% of CPS students are from low-income households, and 90% are minorities. This disparity causes CPS students to be exponentially challenged in high school and beyond.