United Way of Southeast Mississippi Joins Nationwide Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

HATTIESBURG, MISS. – Forrest and Lamar counties are taking a big step toward improving student success by joining the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. United Way of Southeast Mississippi joined the campaign in a collaborative effort to help improve reading proficiency of third-grade students, which experts say is vital to a student's overall academic success. "They got three components that they drive home to be important for Grade-Level Reading. That's school readiness, summer learning, and school attendance,” United Way of Southeast Mississippi’s Director of Community Impact, Staci Cox said. “It is important for students to be in school every day so that they can learn, but it is also important for them to continue that learning throughout the summer… cause you lose a lot over the summer, if you are not engaged with your child or the child doesn't have something to read... So, they have those three main components. Our announcement into the campaign just means we have a large group of people across Forrest, Lamar, and Marion counties that are working hard to make sure students aren't falling through the cracks."