The Daily Rundown — The Latest News Affecting Women & Girls in Our Region

In today’s rundown: Faith community leaders want the District to put more money towards green jobs.  | Local student are less than proficient in reading at a critical point and it could affect their futures.  | Donations to charities are on the rise in the first part of 2010.

— Leaders in the local faith community are asking the D.C. Council to put tens of millions of dollars towards green jobs.  They’ve chosen green jobs because the field is currently expanding and the federal government is willing to fund weatherization projects.  They told WAMU radio that if D.C. Council members don’t help create jobs they’ll be held accountable at the polls.

— Nearly two-thirds of students in Virginia and Maryland can’t read proficiently by the time they start the fourth grade.  83 percent of D.C. students are reading below proficient levels by the time they begin the fourth grade, a time when reading material becomes more complex.  According to a new report on nationwide reading levels there are links between early literacy and high school graduation rates and future economic success.  Click here for more.

— First lady Michelle Obama and Mexico’s first lady will tour a Silver Spring elementary school tomorrow. New Hampshire Estates Elementary School has been honored for having a focus on healthy living.  Many students at the school come from Central and South America.

— According to a new survey from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, donations to the nation’s biggest charities grew rapidly in the first quarter of 2010 compared with the same time in 2009.  It could be a sign that many nonprofits are making a recovery from the fundraising troubles they suffered last year.

Photo credit: GreenForAll.org via Creative Commons.