Partner Spotlight: GO Project
Over the last two years Literacy Trust has been working with nonprofit partner GO Project to add critical literacy intervention programming to their early reading supports. GO Project’s mission is “to ensure that all under-resourced families with children who are significantly struggling in New York City public schools have access to coordinated, comprehensive, and effective supplemental resources to ensure their child thrives in school and in life.”
GO Projects provides various programs and activities, including after-school reading support for local students. GO Project serves a range of neighborhoods and students across NYC, often English language learners and/or BIPOC students, who often do not get the educational supports they need. Throughout the partnership, GO Project staff have attended professional development (PD) sessions to learn effective, research-validated strategies for identifying and supporting struggling readers through the Reading Rescue program. Linda Zhou, a Literacy Trust Program Manager overseeing the partnership, has provided ongoing observational coaching and support to all instructional staff.
A student smiling with excitement during a lesson while using the Jamboard tool to spell words.
The instructors who work directly with GO Project students come from a range of school backgrounds but all are educators in NYC, at both public district and charter schools. One instructor-student pair includes a GO Project teacher, Erin, and a second grade student named Enrique, who is an English language learner. He has had 41 lessons with the instructor and has developed his foundational reading skills through regular, systemic intervention. As a result he has gained four reading levels, recently reaching Level J, which moves him out of a high risk category and prepares him for a successful third grade year.
Janine J. Vaughn, the Director of Campus Instruction at GO Project, noted that since the partnership began in the summer of 2020, the collaborative effort has allowed many students to grow, despite the unfinished learning due to the pandemic. “It has been such a prominent support for our learners. The resources and lessons are truly amazing, as the approach is explicit and engaging,” Janine explained. Unlike Literacy Trust’s other school and CBO partnerships that have returned to in-person instruction, GO Project has continued to offer fully-remote instruction with students. Remote tools and coaching support have allowed GO Project staff to work with students online, affording GO Project the opportunity to continue lessons without interruption in the case that staff or students need to quarantine. The consistency of this instruction has been vital in helping students reach their appropriate reading levels, and GO Project students have made gains similar to their peers receiving in-person instruction elsewhere.
“Reading Rescue brings effective reading intervention instruction that identifies the five key concepts of phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. has been a key element in many of our students’ reading growth!”
A student reading out loud during a lesson.
Program Manager Linda has enjoyed the new and interesting task of managing LT’s first non-school intervention partner after years of LT supporting NYC schools. Linda also noted that the success rate and attendance rate in the LT-GO Project partnership has been extraordinary. On average, there is a 2.3 level of growth for students with 10+ lessons with an instructor.
“Previously, I have only worked with school partners, so it has been wonderful working with GO Project this past school year. Instructors are able to focus all their energy on Reading Rescue and we’ve seen immense growth from all students!”
Thank you to our colleagues at GO Project for your dedication, work, and consistency in helping students become fearless readers! We are excited to continue this all-hands-on-deck work with a range of NYC partners.
Do you know an after-school CBO partner that may have capacity for daily literacy intervention? Email info@literacytrust.org to connect!