SPRING FEATURES
70 percent of 10-year-olds read below grade level. Schools often have only one reading specialist for the entire student body. The Literacy Lab’s Co-Executive Director and Co-Founder Ashley Johnson had been a teacher in the District of Columbia through Teach for America, and observed first-hand the overwhelming need for additional resources. “Literacy is a key driver for success – academically as well as socially,” said Tom Dillon, Co-Executive Director of the organization. “As a D.C. teacher in the mid-2000’s, Ashley saw 9th and 10th graders reading at a 2nd and 3rd grade level. This literacy gap results in adults who can’t engage in the economy or in the political system. When The Literacy Lab was founded in 2009, there were organizations focused on book giveaways and other literacy efforts, but none focused exclusively on supplementing the schools in terms of rigorous instruction to actually teach children to read. The Literacy Lab was created to help bridge that gap.” Dillon and Johnson determined that in order to provide the type of intensive intervention to students that schools did not have the resources to reach, full-time assistance would need to be provided. The Literacy Lab created its “Reading Corps” program, a replication of the nation’s largest state AmeriCorps program. The Reading Corps is composed of 120 intensively trained full-time tutors who make a one-year commitment to The Literacy Lab through AmeriCorps. These rigorously trained tutors are embedded in schools and are heavily supported and coached by Literacy Lab staff members. The tutors focus on one-on-one literacy instruction for high-need children from age 3 to grade 3. They apply research-based techniques with the goal of children reading on grade level by the end of third grade; it is at that point that children transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” The organization has seen substantial success with its approach: 91 percent of pre-K participants significantly increased their kindergarten readiness skills, and 3rd graders who graduated from the program were twice as likely to be reading on grade-level
than their peers. The organization has expanded in recent years to Alexandria, Virginia, Baltimore, Maryland and Kansas City, Kansas. This year, The Literacy Lab is also training and coaching a cohort of early-childhood paraprofessionals to help build and augment their skill sets around literacy instruction. The Literacy Lab’s tutors are mostly young: 90 percent are 3-4 years out of college and few have teaching experience prior to working with the organization. Most make a one-year service commitment (20-25 percent return for a second year), and two-thirds go on to work in education long-term. As such, The Literacy Lab represents a high-quality pipeline of future D.C.-area teachers. Finding new tutors each year is a major feat, but it is critical to the success of the organization. Recruitment for the upcoming class is ongoing now (please refer any potentially interested individuals to Recruitment Manager Jordan Smith at jsmith@theliteracylab.org). Given the organization’s focus on fulltime tutors, it was initially tricky to figure out how to incorporate the efforts of JLW members. However, the JLW volunteers’ work at two homeless shelters has proven to be an impactful adjunct to The Literacy Lab’s primary work in schools. JLW members volunteer at D.C. General Shelter on Wednesday evenings and the New Beginning Shelter on Saturday mornings. The program, “Ready to Read,” is built around eight high-quality early-childhood texts and related materials. Participants are generally in the age range of 3-6 years old. Volunteers introduce vocabulary words related to the day’s text, read the text aloud, ask open-ended questions and provide children with a journaling or drawing activity at the end of the session. One of The Literacy Lab’s master coaches leads the work at both shelters and a handful of fulltime tutors are present at most sessions to provide guidance and support. Recently The Literacy Lab has trained JLW volunteers who have been working with The Literacy Lab for three or more years as session leaders. Session leaders are responsible for kicking off each session, en-
suring groups are staying on task, assisting fellow volunteers if they have any issues during their tutoring sessions and leading the closing circle where the children share from their journals. This role was previously limited to Literacy Lab tutors. The program also includes “reading celebrations” around holidays and in the summer, which are League-driven activities. At each celebration, volunteers choose a read-aloud book and help the children with literacy-related crafts that relate to the book. Volunteers also obtain books from Resolution Read to distribute to the children at the end of each party. At the summer reading party, children are sent home with a summer reading bag that includes literacy materials (books, journals, crayons, etc.) so they can continue learning at home over the summer. Dillon says the primary word that comes to mind when thinking of the JLW volunteers is dedication. “I’ve been blown away by the Junior League volunteers since Day One,” he commented. “They always come in with their sleeves rolled up and willing to work, and are fully committed, despite often having demanding full-time jobs elsewhere. They are going into a difficult environment to work with very active, young children, and they do so with great skill and tremendous caring.” As responsibilities given to JLW members have increased over time, so has the size of the committee. By expanding from only offering sessions at D.C. General to also offering sessions at the New Beginnings Shelter, the committee was able to add 15 additional volunteer slots, taking it from 20 committee members in 2013 to 35 volunteers this year. “The Literacy Lab is an incredible committee to serve on and I’ve loved watching both the committee and our relationship with The Literacy Lab grow over time,” said Committee Chair Leanna Wood. “As a volunteer, it’s very rewarding to see the progress of the children we work with throughout the year. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a child develop an enthusiasm for reading, gain the confidence to share their work with the group or write their name for the first time.”
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