Friend,

When I was teaching high school chemistry in North Philadelphia, I was struck by the fact that my students were struggling – and it wasn't just because chemistry is a hard subject.

My high school students were struggling because many of them were reading at around a third or fourth-grade level. Many schools simply do not have the funding and support they need to help children get the education they need and deserve.

A child's ability to read is directly related to their later success in life. We know how important this is, and yet, far too many American children are falling behind.

What I saw firsthand as a teacher drove me to lead a nonprofit focused on early childhood literacy working so that Pennsylvanian kids and kids across the country wouldn't end up in high school classrooms like mine reading at a third-grade level. It's what drove me to introduce the bipartisan READ Act in Congress to address our country's literacy crisis. It's why I spend time on Zooms and in classrooms with hundreds of children to read with them and to talk about the importance of reading.

Every elected official says our kids are our future. It's time to start acting like it.

I will never let up in my work to improve childhood literacy in our country, and I need to know if you're with me. Please, let me know now:

Do you agree that literacy
is fundamental?

Thank you so much for standing with me on an issue that means so much to me.

There is work to be done,

Chrissy