Stockton-San Joaquin County
ABOUT STOCKTON
Stockton-San Joaquin County Priorities and Progress
key funders
Beyond Our Gates
Convened by University of the Pacific, the
Beyond Our Gates Community Council is a group
of about 50 San Joaquin County, Calif., leaders,
representing the education, business, health,
government, nonprofit, arts, faith, lawenforcement and media sectors. Recognizing that
a child’s reading ability at the end of third grade is
critical to future success, the Beyond Our Gates
Community Council is committed to focusing
strategically on the factors that most significantly
influence reading development: school readiness,
attendance and summer enrichment.
FUNDERS AND PARTNERS
AT&T
san joaquin literacy report card
Comcast
First 5 San Joaquin
Health Plan of San Joaquin
PG&E
First 5 San Joaquin
Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce
Health Plan of San Joaquin
Housing Authority, County of San Joaquin
Lakeview Assembly Church
Lincoln Unified School District
Lodi Unified School District
Published and distributed annually, this document draws the community’s attention to key literacy
Wells Fargo
indicators and serves as an important tool in helping us hold ourselves collectively accountable for
key partners
PG&E
results. We envision the Literacy Report Card as both a milepost—a way of tracking our progress
University of the Pacific
Read to Me, Stockton
AT&T
SASS! Public Relations
Bank of Stockton
San Joaquin A+
Books for Babes
San Joaquin County Office of Education
Boys & Girls Club of Tracy
San Joaquin County Human Services
Bring Me a Book Foundation
Agency
Central United Methodist Church
San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office
Children Now
San Joaquin Delta College
City of Stockton
San Joaquin Library & Literacy Foundation
Comcast
San Joaquin Regional Transit District
Community Foundation of San Joaquin
St. Joseph’s Medical Center
Community Partnership for Families of San
Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library
Joaquin
Stockton Symphony
Cort Cos.
Stockton Unified School District
El Concilio
Strong Libraries = Strong Communities
Family Resource and Referral Center of
United Way of San Joaquin County
San Joaquin
Visionary Home Builders
— and a roadmap — a way of charting our future course.
every day counts
The Every Day Counts campaign engages schools, families and the local business community in
promoting consistent school attendance. During the month of September, students are invited to
take part in the Every Day Counts Attendance Challenge in which they can earn prizes by coming
Office of Assemblywoman Susan Eggman
Office of Supervisor Kathy Miller
Reach Out and Read San Joaquin
YMCA of San Joaquin County
to school on time every day. Last year, 20,000 students across the county achieved perfect
attendance as part of our initiative.
local data
san joaquin reads
•  34% of San Joaquin County third graders
In a community where only 34 percent of 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in preschool, and where
score at grade level or higher on standardized
language-arts tests
•  34% 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in
preschool
more than a quarter of infants are born to mothers who lack a high school diploma, we know that
A CALL TO ACTION FOR OUR SHARED
FUTURE
“As we celebrate signs of a brightening economic outlook, we
any effort to improve school readiness hinges on meaningful parent engagement. Through a
remember to consider the well-being of our children as a critical indicator
combination of face-to-face workshops delivered by trusted community partners, and a
grade as a crucial turning point in a child’s educational career: Research
sophisticated social marketing campaign, San Joaquin Reads empowers parents, caregivers and
other stakeholders to support early literacy skill development in everyday activities.
of the Central Valley’s long-term prosperity. In particular, we look to third
demonstrates that the ability to read proficiently by the end of third grade
is a predictor of future academic achievement. Children who aren’t strong
readers by the end of third grade are far more likely to drop out of high
school—and far less likely to become the engaged citizens on which our
•  13% of children are chronically
community depends.
absent in grades K–3
It is alarming, then, that every year thousands of San Joaquin County
students leave third grade without having mastered critical literacy skills.
•  2.7 books and other materials are checked
out from the public library per capita, lagging
the statewide rate of 6.1 books per capita
The Campaign for
GRADE-LEVEL
READING
The problem is serious, but not unsolvable. Through the Beyond Our
Gates initiative, University of the Pacific and partners throughout the
region are working collectively to focus attention, resources and
expertise on improving early literacy.”
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