1,000,000 Scholarships Pledge

Did you know that eSpindle uses membership fees to maintain a large number of scholarships? Yet, there is so much more to do!

Celebrating our fifth anniversary, we made a pledge to award 1,000,000 scholarships over the next 5 years. Our main focus: Third graders.

Why third graders?

Disadvantaged students start school with a vocabulary half the size of their more privileged peers—a gap that often widens throughout elementary school.

Research has shown that the core problem for struggling students is a low vocabulary and resulting lack of comprehension.To succeed academically, meaningful and targeted vocabulary practice is needed.
By 4th grade, texts grow more challenging and students who operate with limited vocabulary fall behind.

To ensure success in school and a life of opportunity, weak vocabularies have to be strengthened during third grade.

Some sobering facts

***40% of 4th grade students in California, and 65% of inner-city students, do not meet 4th-grade literacy standards. (source)

***75% of students who struggle with reading at the end of fourth grade drop out of high school (source). Various states, it is said, look at 4th grade literacy statistics to plan the future need for prison beds.

***Nationwide, every nine seconds a student drops out of school (source). Dropouts are usually either underemployed or unemployable, which frequently can lead to a life of crime, consequently costing society on average between $1.7 to $2.3 million per criminal (Cohen, M.A. 1998. The monetary value of saving a high risk youth. Journal of Quantitative Criminology 14[1]).

A mind is a terrible thing to waste, and a loss that hurts society. There's a saying that states "If you think that education is expensive, try ignorance."

Our scholarship pledge

Vocabulary requires more than simple teaching. Focused and continuous practice is needed to make sure new words are stored in long-term memory. When schools are overburdened and parents lack time and English skills, students are often left without the opportunity to bridge the vocabulary divide.

Good news is that targeted practice can successfully close the gap, at any age.

We envision a day when every low-income third grader can use eSpindle coaching to boost verbal skills and confidence as a foundation for future success.

If you are a teacher or school administrator looking for scholarship support for your low-income/Title I third grade students, please apply here.

How you can support us

Every eSpindle membership supports our pledge.
In addition, we created seven ways for you to raise funds without spending a single penny! You even get free rewards... here is how it works:

1 - Get started in less than 10 minutes; all options in this fundraising program are free! You don't have to be an eSpindle member to participate.

2 - Earn an ePoint for every dollar raised!

3 - Browse eSpindle’s reward catalog online. Trade your ePoints for eSpindle membership or a list of online memberships and prizes.

4 - Enjoy free rewards just for taking the time to support eSpindle’s Scholarship Pledge!