New CYFS Program Focuses on Early Development Reading - NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather

Children, Youth, and Family Services of Charlottesville is looking for volunteers to help close a disparity in childhood reading skills.

CYFS says a child from a middle to upper income family goes into kindergarten with a much larger vocabulary than the average low-income child.    According to the CYFS website, "a child from a middle to upper income family goes into kindergarten with a vocabulary of 25,000 words. But the average child from a low-income family arrives knowing just 5,000."

The organization is looking for "play partners" to help low-income kids with their reading skills.

Gail Esterman, the child care quality manager at CYFS said, "We're seeing that that difference lasts, that that difference can predict third grade reading scores, academic achievement overall, and even the drop-out rate."

Click here for more information on the Play Partners program.