Any student more than one grade level behind falls into “the literacy gap”. For those in the gap, the educational model does not include the intensive help they need to achieve grade level reading.

“What we see in Detroit, as we see in so many large urban school districts around the country, are people that randomly throw solutions to the problems of illiteracy. What makes Beyond Basics unique is it is truly research-based, it gets at the heart of the problems with illiteracy, and it attacks it in a coherent, strategic, comprehensive way.” - Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent

• This silent epidemic has not been addressed for decades – it is at crisis level.
• 85% or more students in poorer districts like Detroit slip into the “literacy gap.”
• Communities of color tend to be disproportionately impacted.
• Lack of literacy skills cause the billions spent on education to go to waste.
• Children who struggle to read, become adults who struggle – leading to a cycle of poverty.