The Reality is sad....

So the first week of school is behind me and I thought I would be excited to get back into the classroom. However, I'm not quite sure how I feel. I am teaching 4th grade Language Arts and Social Studies and my students are amazing. Unfortunately, most of my students' reading levels fall far below the norm for 4th grade. I was working on planning a lesson on current events this weekend and I really struggled with finding a current events article that my entire class could read with comprehension. I don't understand how this could have happened. As these students get older, it will be more difficult for them to "catch up" academically. I am definitely up for the challenge but I do feel bad.