The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga Fights Illiteracy

CHATTANOOGA – The Urban League of Greater Chattanooga (Chattanooga, TN) has partnered with the Tennessee Department of Education and Hamilton County Schools in a new literacy program.

The program, called Connected Literacy, is a 12-week tutoring program will be open to any first, second, or third grade student within Hamilton County Schools that is reading below their grade level. It will also be open to any student that needs assistance maintaining their reading level. The tutors will all have completed the Tennessee Department of Education’s Early Reading Training.

Lisa Coons, Chief Academic Officer for the Tennessee Department of Education, said, “The department is thrilled to partner with the ULGC and HCS to help families have access to literacy tutoring through the Connected Literacy Tutoring Program. Ensuring that all children can read by the third-grade changes lifelong opportunities for children, and we want to ensure that every child has the supports necessary to be successful.”

The program comes at a time when, according to a recent State of Black Chattanooga report, Black students in Hamilton County have been found to have the lowest literacy proficiency. Also included in the report is that only 36.6% of third grade students were deemed reading proficiently.

For Candy Johnson, President and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, this partnership couldn’t come at a better time.

“During 2020 and up until now we’ve seen a variety of educational challenges, and many families are still suffering from the impact of the pandemic. We believe the Connected Literacy Program will help students who may have fallen behind in literacy skills to move toward becoming and remaining proficient readers.”

“With our organization’s long-standing focus on education, we wanted to be a greater part of the solution, specifically serving families where the most disparities exist,” said Johnson. “Literacy rates correlate to everything from economic opportunity, better nutrition and overall better life outcomes; the ULGC aims to aid families in battling illiteracy as part our LEAP afterschool program and our overall mission to enable African Americans, other minorities, and disadvantaged persons to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.”

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