By Mythili Sampathkumar
Good Magazine
According to a new WalletHub study, Washington, D.C. currently lays claim to the second-worst public school system in the country; the lowest math, reading, and SAT scores; the highest dropout rate; and the most unsafe classrooms. Plus, the most recent findings from the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that 83 percent of eighth grade students in the District of Columbia simply aren’t proficient at reading.
Despite this seemingly dreary outlook, Kathy Crutcher—the founder of D.C.-based, teen-focused writing and reading program Shout Mouse Press—has hope, because she knows these students have important stories to tell. She’s even publishing their books.
A writer who has long overseen storytelling workshops for both adults and teens in the D.C. area, Crutcher couldn’t help but fixate on the fact that these students didn’t have access to any age- or culturally-appropriate reading material. After all, says Crutcher, “If high school students are reading at an elementary school level, you can’t give them Dr. Seuss. They’re going to feel like they’re being remediated and they’re going to be embarrassed.”
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