Give what so many RI students are missing...the powerful gift of literacy.

According to the 2024 RICAS assessments, only 30.8% of elementary and middle school students are meeting grade-level expectations in English Language Arts (ELA) this year. That’s 2.3% lower than last year and 8% lower than before the pandemic in 2019. With a 69.2% illiteracy rate for RI public school students, we are facing a true education crisis.

Children with deficient reading skills face serious challenges later on in their education careers. They may drop out of school, have difficulty getting a job, or even end up in prison. RITES teachers work hard to keep students from experiencing these dangers.

RITES literacy specialist teacher Maria Keil was always there for local students in need...

Maria was a public school special education teacher in Rhode Island for decades. She understood the daily challenges faced by her students and her colleagues alike. After retiring, Maria knew she just couldn't stop being there for local students who needed to learn to read. Maria joined RITES in 2011 and offered her many talents, bringing literacy to over 60 of our most vulnerable young students for over a decade.

Maria never liked the spotlight. She much preferred to shine the light on her students and their progress, celebrating each of their successes, however small or great. She had a wonderful, calm, quiet way of always supporting her students. Even when a student was having a particularly bad day, struggling with something that should have been reviewed, Maria would remain unflappable, praising any and every effort that student made. When asked if she was frustrated, Maria would just smile with her eyelids lowered and say something pithy and positive, putting it all into the right perspective.

She lived her life privately, with grace and humor. Even when she became ill with cancer, she preferred to keep that mostly to herself.

Sadly, Maria lost her recurring battle with cancer, and her life was celebrated in February of this year. We at RITES dearly miss her - the ongoing confidence she gave her students, and her warmth, dependability, and unwavering support as a colleague and friend.

We are proud to have established the Maria Keil Memorial Literacy Fund to honor her legacy and remember Maria. All donations go directly to recipients of the RITES financial assistance program who need specialized literacy instruction.

We've already designated our first recipient (who wishes to remain anonymous, so much like Maria!). Thanks to the Fund, this student is able to have an extension of her financial assistance so she can finish middle school with RITES literacy support. If we meet our 2024 goal, more students will be able to come off our wait list to receive the crucial reading instruction they need to become literate.

This Giving Tuesday, consider donating to RITES students and designating the Maria Keil Memorial Literacy Fund. If you prefer to support students who need math help, study/organizational instruction, or other areas of assistance, just choose "Where It Is Most Needed" as your designation.

Thank you for being a part of the RITES experience so that local children can become the literate citizens they have the right to be.