The Need

The household income of Ottawa’s ten highest-income neighbourhoods is 2.7 times greater than that of Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods.

Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods have the highest level of socioeconomic disadvantage. Comparatively, these neighbourhoods have:

• almost twice as many first generation immigrants;

• 5 times more residents that can speak neither English nor French;

• 3 times more residents considered part of racialized populations;

• 7 times more refugees;

• almost 3 times as many single-parent families; 

• twice the rate of unemployment;

• almost twice as much unaffordable housing;

• twice as many indigenous residents.

 A family’s income level affects the literacy skills of their children. 

Comparatively, children from Ottawa’s ten lowest-income neighbourhoods generally attend lower-ranked schools. 

These schools have:

• more than twice as many children who are vulnerable to language and cognitive development problems;

• almost 4 times the number of ESL (English as a Second Language) or ALF (Programme d’actualisation linguistique en français) students;

• 15% fewer Grade 3 students who indicated that they “Like to Read Most of the Time”; 

• 23% fewer Grade 6 students who indicated that they “Like to Read Most of the Time”; 

• 28% fewer Grade 3 students who meet provincial reading standards;

• 23% fewer Grade 6 students who meet provincial reading standards

Children’s reading skills have a real impact on their lives.

• Without special help, students experiencing reading difficulties by the end of Grade 1 almost never achieve average reading skills scores by the end of elementary school.

• Studies show a child’s vocabulary at age five is a predictor of vocabulary at age 17; early Intervention can change a child’s language development.

• 75% of young people who had the highest levels of reading proficiency at age 15 had completed some form of postsecondary education by age 25.

• For each additional year of education that a person receives, earnings increase by approximately 8% per year; high school graduates earn approximately 50% more than those without high school diplomas.

• A 1% increase in literacy in our population could boost our national income by $32 billion.