TIFTON — Georgia First Lady Sandra Deal, along with the Georgia Literacy Commission, were in Tifton August 14 for the third of four public meetings to discuss literacy in the state.

The commission was formed to address the lack of an educated and literate workforce and how that could affect both individuals and Georgia’s industry.

There was a large public presence at the meeting, particularly of those involved in education.

This meeting focused on improving literacy among students from fourth to twelfth grade.

Deal, who was an educator and is passionate about literacy, said that it was vital to engage children in reading through various methods.

She named after school programs, camps and summer school as some of the ways to help supplement traditional education. She said the school already have great programs, and that the teachers really care about preparing their students to enter the workforce.

Deal also said that getting parents involved would help keep kids moving forward.

“All of it is preparation for their future,” she said. “And if we don’t get them prepared for their future then they fall into not having the skills we want them to have, not being encouraged to graduate from high school. We know that if they don’t finish high school they’re not likely to have a good paying job.”

Deal added that she read a statistic stating 75 percent of individuals in prison didn’t graduate from high school, and said that not having the necessary education and skills to hold jobs leads them to making poor choices to make ends meet.

She added that they really need additional vocational or technical training, but emphasized that every student really needs at least a high school education.

“That helps to keep them off the welfare rolls,” she said, adding “it gives them a good feeling about themselves if they can have a high school diploma. They feel like they can learn and they accept jobs.”

They’re going to have to have support along the way, she said.

“We do what we can do with what we have,” she said. “And every life we touch and every person we can help means hope for that person.

“We want every person in Georgia to have the skills to be able to hold the jobs that we have worked hard to bring.”

After the third grade, Deal said, students begin to read for information instead of focusing on learning how to read, which is why it is important for fourth through twelfth graders to have programs and additional help with literacy.

“If they don’t have the skill level to know what those words say and mean, it becomes more and more difficult,” Deal said.

She added that not being able to read well leads to children not enjoying reading, and that to get better you have to practice.

She compared it to athletes practicing sports, saying that just like football players have to go lift weights, reading is a skill that one must practice to get better.

“We’re searching for answers,” she concluded. “We don’t have all the answers or we wouldn’t be coming together to try and find the answers.

“We just keep working at it and hopefully we’ll be successful.”

The next scheduled public meetings of the commission are in Milledgeville on August 31 and Dalton on September 21.