believe & read

Catholic Schools are on a mission to transform reading and advance student literacy. And we're already seeing success.

Reading is the foundation for educational success and life opportunities. In the early grades, students learn to read. By third grade, they read to learn. Yet, 60 percent of all American students are not reading at grade level by the third grade. In Catholic schools, the average number of young struggling readers is closer to 20 percent, but this still isn’t good enough.

The Vision

Catholic schools’ solution to this challenge is Believe and Read, a best-in-class literacy program powered by the Catholic Schools Center of Excellence in partnership with Groves Academy, a national expert in reading instruction, and Cretin-Derham Hall Catholic High School. In addition to helping students who struggle, Believe and Read helps launch ALL students to the next level. The goal is to ensure every student is at or above grade-level reading by fourth grade – because God calls every child to greatness.

In the first two years of the pilot, every student was reading at or beyond grade level by year two.