I read with great interest the story about books for inmates at the La Plata County Jail (Herald, April 9). Many kudos to Chaplin George “Blake” Blakesley who directs the jail’s library and the volunteers who work with him. Statistics for both incarcerated adults and youths show that about 85 percent of those in prison functionally are illiterate (reading below the fourth-grade level).

Of this staggering statistic, studies show that about 65 percent of those are dyslexic (identified in Colorado as having a “specific learning disorder”). The social as well as financial toll for illiteracy is staggering – and unnecessary. We have highly reliable screening tools that enable us to identify those “at risk for learning to read” by mid-kindergarten.

We have highly scientifically validated methods for successfully instructing these high-risk children. The school drop-out rate for students with reading difficulties is much higher than those who read at or above grade level; the drug use is much higher; the unemployment rate is much higher; the incarnation rate is much higher.

While it is very heartwarming to read that the jail library is so meaningful to many of the inmates, would it not be worth the time and effort to identify at-risk-for-reading children early and make sure that all of our students have the proper instructional programming to prevent illiteracy, thus preventing many folks ending up in jail? In our beautiful Durango, we still have around a 25 percent reading failure rate. That makes my heart hurt.

Joyce Bilgrave

Durango