Whitmer creates 16-member council to tackle reading crisis

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced the creation of the Every Child Reads Champions Council on Monday, establishing a new advisory body aimed at improving literacy outcomes across Michigan.

The 16-member council will include leaders from education, business, government, and community organizations. According to the governor’s office, the council is expected to be fully in place by August.

Michigan’s reading scores trail the nation

Michigan currently ranks 44th in the nation for 4th grade reading levels, according to state education data.

The low ranking has drawn attention from educators and community leaders across the state, including in Saginaw County, where reading programs have been working for years to close the gap.

Saginaw’s Read Association backs the move

Samantha Engel, president and director of the Read Association of Saginaw County, said she supports the governor’s decision to create the council.

“Anytime that we see a focus being placed on literacy, especially childhood literacy, it’s really important,” Engel said.

Engel warned that children who fall behind in reading face consequences that extend well beyond the classroom.

“They’re going to fall behind, suffer from academic struggles, mental and emotional struggles, possibly drop out of school, and obviously we don’t want that,” she said.

What the Read Association does

The Read Association of Saginaw County provides adult mentors to read with children. The organization also works directly with schools and offers family literacy programs that teach parents how to support their children as they learn to read.

Engel said the nonprofit uses evidence-based science of reading programs for its tutoring work.

“More education, more resources for parents, more resources for schools, perhaps more support for non-profits like us that are doing this work outside of school,” Engel said. “And using these tested tools will hopefully really improve those scores for everybody.”

Next steps

Engel invited the state to work with local organizations as the council gets underway.

“Reach out to us, and we’d love to be on this journey with everybody as we really try to boost the literacy scores here in the county and ultimately the state,” she said.

The council’s full membership list has not yet been released. The governor’s office has not announced a budget or dedicated funding for the initiative.