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Contents

The State of Adolescent Literacy Today Educating the Educators Family, Communities and Peers Adolescent Literacy and Public Policy Standards and Assessment Next Steps
  
Family, Communities and Peers

Communities and Peers

 

Suggested Reading

“Do You Speak American?” (PBS Documentary on American dialects)

Andrés Henríquez, “Jane Can’t Read? Let’s Teach Her,” April 2, 2004. New York Times, Editorials/Letters, New York, NY

“Reengaging Families with Their Adolescent Children.” Great Transitions: Preparing Adolescents for a New Century. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2005. (3) 1 May 2006.

The Next Chapter. Arlington, VA: National School Board Association, 2006

In the 2004 report Issues in the Field of Adolescent Literacy: Information and Recommendations for the Carnegie Advisory Council on Reading to Learn, Dr. Catherine Snow and fellow researchers discuss the potential of after-school programs and community involvement to positively impact youth development and literacy training. They note that:
“A number of out-of-school contexts, like after school community programs that engage families and peers, have the potential to contribute to students’ literacy development. Students and their peers may feel they have learned to read in early elementary school. However, reading to gain knowledge from new information in specific content areas becomes much more difficult for many students in later years. After school community programs, which have been established as safe havens for young people, can be harnessed as a resource for struggling students…As a result of Carnegie and National Research Council reports, a number of after school community programs were developed to serve the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of youth.”1
Research still needs to be done on how best to maximize the efficacy of after-school community programs.

Issues in the Field continues: “a number of questions remain about how out-of-school time can be highly beneficial to struggling students. For example, what should an after school program targeting adolescent literacy look like? What should the qualifications be for staff teaching literacy in an after school program? What should the role of parents and peers be in supporting adolescents with comprehension difficulties?”2

Carnegie Corporation is actively supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Johns Hopkins University, and National Urban League programs addressing exactly these questions. When enough progress has been made on these programs, links will be provided on this page to the research in question.


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© 2006 Carnegie Corporation of New York