Western Massachusetts Literacy Collaborative Receives $190,000 Grant
The Western Massachusetts Literacy Collaborative (WMLC) recently received a $190,000 Early Literacy Consortium (ELC) grant from the Healey-Driscoll administration and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The collaborative, through which local colleges and schools work together to address teacher preparation, boost student literacy, and enhance classroom practices, was created three years ago. It has been used as a model by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to encourage other colleges and public schools to partner on addressing literacy needs in their region. The Early Literacy Consortium grant program was created to support funding initiatives such as the WMLC and other consortia across the state.
Elms College is the lead institution in the WMLC, which also includes American International College, Bay Path University, Springfield College, and Westfield State University. The school districts include Springfield Public Schools, East Longmeadow Public Schools, and the Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership. Also included are early education sites Educare Springfield and Square One.
A key part of the collaborative is the Summer Learn & Earn Literacy Corps, which prepares college students studying to be future educators to teach culturally responsive and evidence-based literacy practices. The college students then work as summer school tutors teaching elementary and middle school students ways to improve their reading skills.
Last summer, the Learn & Earn Literacy Corps attracted 34 tutors to help nearly 200 elementary and secondary students identified as needing support with reading skills.
The funds from this grant will provide professional development on evidence-based literacy practices to higher education and school district professionals, and contract an evaluation specialist who will determine the effectiveness of the literacy interventions.
“The WMLC is grateful for all the support we have received. It has enabled us to create quality mentored work experiences for new and aspiring teachers,” said Laura Porter, WMLC director and an instructor in the Education Division at Elms College. “Overall, the public school students who received literacy interventions from our college tutors during summer sessions demonstrated substantial growth with their reading skills. This points to the effectiveness of the Summer Learn & Earn Literacy Corps in supporting new teachers and providing strong literacy outcomes for elementary and middle school youth in our region.”