Advancing
Children’s
Literacy
Mission Statement
Better Basics works to eradicate illiteracy among children in Central Alabama. We deliver reading and math instruction and resources to empower the educationally vulnerable.
Vision Statement
To instill a love for learning in the children we serve that will enable them to realize their full potential, achieve their dreams, and thrive in an everchanging world.
How Can You Help?
What is Better Basics?
Better Basics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization advancing children’s reading and mathematics literacy. Better Basics was founded in 1993 by John Glasser, who saw the direct correlation between poverty and illiteracy.
Why is Better Basics Important?
Better Basics advances educational equity in Central Alabama
Facts About Literacy in Alabama:
16% of Alabamians are illiterate.
79% of low-income children enter kindergarten not knowing all the letters of the alphabet.
Children not reading at grade level by the end of third grade and living in poverty are 13 times less likely to graduate from high school.
60% of low-income families do not have a single children’s book in their homes.
How Do We Help?
Academic Programs
Better Basics delivers a comprehensive range of research-based intervention and enrichment programs to children from birth to 12th grade in Central Alabama through collaboration with public schools, partners, and community organizations in underserved areas.
Community Programs
Better Basics provides books and literacy outreach services directly to vulnerable communities in Central Alabama.