Adolescent Literacy: A Position Statement.

want to thank members of the International Reading Association's Commission on Adolescent Literacy for the development of this position paper, which was approved by the Association's Board of Directors in May 1999. Ironically, the Board approved this statement in the aftermath of the shattering violence at Columbine High School in Colorado a vivid and horrible testimony to the everdeepening crises in adolescent literacy. If only these young men had been touched by a book or a teacher, or had felt more connected with their school, perhaps none of this would have happened. As teachers and parents, we have to do things differently. This position statement is a start. We must begin with a clear message about what adolescents deserve. Adolescents are being shortchanged. No one is giving adolescent literacy much press. It is certainly not a hot topic in educational policy or a priority in schools. In the United States, most Title I budgets are allocated for early intervention little is left over for the struggling adolescent reader. Even if all children do learn to read by Grade 3, the literacy needs of the adolescent reader are far different from those of primary-grade children. Many people don't recognize reading development as a continuum. Moreover, schools have worked hard to re-

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