Community organizations are working to close the education gaps in our children

• Michigan ranks in the 10 lowest state for education in children.
• Community experts say there are different factors that go into this issue including the pandemic but economic and social disparities
• Video shows experts giving insight on where things may have fallen and how community organizations are working to fix the issues.

According to a national report released earlier this month, children in Michigan are falling behind in the classroom, so I talked to people in our community about the ways they are improving the gaps.
"To hear how exciting it was to read a billboard, to read a recipe, her prescriptions."

Wherever words appear...

Barbara Schmidt has a passion for helping our neighbors read it.

For over 40 years, Schmidt and other volunteers at The Reading People have helped people improve their literacy skills.

"We have a huge building of books that we love giving to the community."

Books that are free for anyone to take...

Books that can make a difference in someone's life.

"There are so many things that are literacy based and if you can't read, you're missing out on a lot of stuff."

And that's more important now than ever, with the new report regarding Michigan's children.

"Michigan was in the bottom 10 states in the second year in a row in education."

That's according to the Kids Count Data Book, a nationwide report that showed 72 percent of Michigan fourth graders are not proficient in reading.

So why is this happening?

Anne Kuhen, the Kids Count policy director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, believes it's because kids might not be economically secure at home.

"Families might be struggling with housing insecurity, they may not have sufficient food to eat, they might not have a way to get to school," Kuhen said.

The search for solutions expands beyond the Reading People.

In Haslett, the Well Education Center is a faith-based organization that helps children with dyslexia to improve their literacy skills.

"We merge this phonics literacy with also trying to share the gospel so we are in the process of creating our own curriculum. Which we want to make accessible to anyone at no cost," Tiffany said.

Another effort to get kids to read the words, wherever they may be.

Education is a topic that will be addressed in the upcoming school aid budget bill in the capitol expected to be approved sometime this week.

Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website .

For more news about the State Capitol, go to the State Capitol neighborhood page on our website .

Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.

Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.

Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.

Follow us on Twitter

Like us on Facebook