“I love how SSL helps children achieve their fullest potential in reading… My daughter’s reading has improved and she has reached the level she should be at.” - SSL Parent, January 2019
Every year we at Super Stars Literacy (SSL) ask parents for feedback, and every year we hear how our dedicated Group Leaders have made a difference in the lives of Oakland children through our programming. Yet our passion to serve in high poverty areas bears a burden not so easily carried. Last year, only 22% of economically disadvantaged Oakland unified students were reading at grade level, which is why over 90% of SSL students come from low income households.
For these families, SSL provides more than free tutoring in reading and social-emotional growth. Our program serves as a daycare alternative, an opportunity for community, and even a form of justice for those who feel the education system has failed them. Our program provides a stop gap in the cracks of education that our children would slip through were it not for the work of our Group Leaders, the trust of our parents, and advocacy of our allies.
We are proud to be more than the sum of our parts to those we serve, but our sums also speak for themselves. Last school year 88% of SSL students made overall literacy gains, but 54% of those students did more than improve, they achieved accelerated growth and ended the year at grade level. This means that the percent of students in the SSL program reading at grade level by the end of the year is double that of other economically disadvantaged students in Oakland. The more students we are able to serve, the stronger our community.
“[The Group Leader] is very helpful and she cares a lot about my son but also all other students. We’ve seen so much good improvements in my child since he joined.” - SSL Parent, January 2019
Help us keep the momentum because when a child learns to read, they are empowered to transform their future.
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