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Last school year (2008-09), 40 percent of children entering Kindergarten in Buffalo Public Schools (BPS) lagged behind their peers in Kindergarten readiness. Read to Succeed Buffalo (RTSB) announced today that they are beginning to see a change.

As the new director of development for Read to Succeed Buffalo Inc., Michael Benzin will design a funding plan for the coalition that focuces on literacy campaigns. In more than two decades of work, the Western New York native has held similar posts with with stories related to your companies of interest.

SPECIAL TO THE NEWS I was reading up about the Seneca Falls Convention, where the movement for women's rights began, and thinking about its connection to modern- day issues when I came across the following on Wikipedia.com: "In the 1840s, women in America were reaching out for greater control of their lives. Husbands and fathers directed the lives of women, and many doors were closed to female participation. Society prohibited women from inheriting property, signing contracts, serving on juries and voting in elections. Women's prospects in employment were dim: they could expect only to gain a very few service-related jobs, and were paid about half of what men were paid for the same work." While reading, I thought, "Wow, this sounds familiar!" Back then, legal barriers prevented women from doing these things. Today, these laws are different. But low literacy is a barrier that holds people back. A large portion of our population is unable to achieve the American Dream because of a lack of literacy skills. People are reaching out for greater control of their lives, but low literacy is prohibiting millions of Americans from inheriting property, signing contracts, serving on juries and voting in elections. Doors are closed to their participation in society.

A piece of Buffalo will soon reach President Obama in Washington. The president will receive the Declaration of Literacy and Justice for All and a set of resolutions from local and national literacy advocates who met during Saturday's Right to Literacy Convention. The declaration was just one of several activities organized at the convention, sponsored by Read to Succeed Buffalo and Literacy Powerline.

The public is invited to a free daylong convention on literacy from 8 a. m. to 2 p. m. today in the Hyatt Regency Buffalo, 2 Fountain Plaza. The Right to Literacy Convention will bring together educators, community leaders and concerned citizens from throughout Western New York and across the country to declare the "inherent right to literacy and justice for all," organizers with Read to Succeed said.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Concerned citizens and leaders say it's time to tackle illiteracy. Saturday they met for the Right to Literacy Convention at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Buffalo.