LATEST NEWS AT LITERACY TRUST
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Check out The Read this quarter! The Read is our regular newsletter on our work and all-things-literacy. In this mid-year newsletter, we’re excited to share stories from the field, our launch of The Source, and more.
When looking at what it means to provide and receive comprehensive, high-touch literacy support, look no further than P.S. 236 in the Bronx! With the generous support of the Leon Lowenstein Foundation, our team collaborated with P.S. 236 educators over the last year and a half in what will be a two-year model to couple intervention services (provided largely by the school’s paraprofessionals) with support for finetuning core literacy instruction.
Check out The Read this quarter! The Read is our regular newsletter on all-things-literacy. In this newsletter, we’re excited to share updates on our reading intervention work, family engagement workshops, professional learning services, and more.
Check out The Read: our regular newsletter on all-things-literacy. As we reflect on the previous school year, we’re excited to dive into the next one!
This month we sat down with Lisette Ayala, a paraprofessional and Reading Rescue instructor at PS 20 in Manhattan. She started working at the Dept. of Education 17 years ago and has instructed over 30 students over the course of her 7-year literacy intervention journey!
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.
We are proud to spotlight Anne-Lys Patton: a school-based Literacy Coach and exemplary Program Coordinator at P.S. 115 in Brooklyn.
As part of our celebration of Black History Month, we want to share the meaningful work Program Manager Kanika Mobley does to bring more books with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) characters to young readers.
The Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI) and New York City's Young Men's Initiative (YMI) recently released an updated 2021 Disparity Report, after originally releasing a Disparity Report in 2016. The report analyzes the following markers of socioeconomic wellbeing in the city by race/ethnicity and gender.
Our first Instructor Spotlight of the 2021-2022 school year is Christina Henriquez, an instructor and Program Coordinator at P.S. 24 in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Christina worked in daycare for a few years before becoming a paraprofessional at P.S. 24, where she has worked for 10 years. With the support of the NYC Department of Education, she obtained a degree in Disability Studies…
This summer, Literacy Trust partnered with the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC). CPC’s mission is to “promote the social and economic empowerment of Chinese American, immigrant, and low-income communities,” and the organization has been vital to COVID-recovery efforts in Lower Manhattan and around the city. CPC has a deep relationship with our longtime school partner P.S. 2 in Chinatown, offering after-school enrichment for students and robust support for families and the broader community.
As you enter the last weeks of summer, we’ve collected a list of suggested summer books for rising kindergarteners through 3rd graders. Some are classics, while others are lesser-known, but all are sure to delight whether reading under the shade of a tree, while waiting to be picked up from Summer Rising, or even in one of NYC’s (open!) public library branches.
This summer, we are excited to highlight Mr. Pablos Vargas, a Reading Rescue instructor at PS 43 in the Bronx. Mr. Vargas unexpectedly began a career in education six years ago. After studying and planning to enter the social work profession, he says he “stumbled into education” after a friend recommended that he look into an educational role.
Before COVID-19 fundamentally changed the running of schools across NYC, Ms. Nayda Tinsley had a number of responsibilities within P.S. 158 in Manhattan. Having worked at the school for 20 years, she assisted with lunchroom supervision, recess supervision, office work, and other critical non-instructional roles. However, as schools transitioned into remote or blended learning in 2020.
Johanna Gomez is one of 754 Reading Rescue instructors who began her Reading Rescue journey during the 2020-2021 school year, our most unusual year on record. As a literacy coach, she is accustomed to helping students who struggle with foundational reading skills.
“I’m a former teacher, I taught 6th grade self contained. I had students who were really far behind...you know 5, 6 grade levels behind. It is really difficult for them to catch up, and it’s really hard to do that with one teacher in the classroom or even two. Early intervention programs are really important.” - Jordan Stockdale, Young Men’s Initiative Executive Director
Research suggests that one-to-one, individualized instruction may be essential for many children whose reading is below the benchmark for their grade. When a child works closely with a skilled instructor they receive focused, individualized teaching.
Dr. Katie Pace Miles, academic advisor for Literacy Trust and Reading Rescue, was featured on Glean Education’s podcast. Dr. Miles discussed her research, including some key take-aways on how to ensure that students are getting literacy instruction rooted in the science of reading.
Below is a list of read-alouds for the start of the school year curated by Literacy Trust program managers. These books focus on the back-to-school themes of identity, inclusion, empathy, creativity, mindfulness, perseverance and resilience.
Dear Universal Literacy Initiative reading coaches,
We have known some of you since 2016, and have gotten to know each of you in dozens of professional development sessions over subsequent years.
Check out the article below, which was released by Chalkbeat–a non-profit news organization that reports on education policy and practice! Chalkbeat’s Alex Zimmerman visited P.S. 111 in Queens to get a firsthand look at the reading intervention work P.S. 111 is doing through the Reading Rescue professional development provided by Literacy Trust. Read about Eileen Bramer, a paraprofessional at the school, and her experience with Reading Rescue by visiting the link below.
As a nonprofit that runs a literacy intervention program for first graders, we’ve been thinking a lot about dyslexia this month. For those newer to the term,
Our End of Year Celebration was a roaring success! We ate, drank, and celebrated our awardees at 26 Bridge in DUMBO, Brooklyn.
Constance has been working for the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) for about six years. CPC and P.S. 2 in Chinatown have had an ongoing partnership since 1972, which includes CPC staff running after school and summer programming for the school. Constance is their Education Specialist and in 2015, she joined the P.S. 2 Reading Rescue team.
Denise is a Reading Rescue instructor at P.S. 56 in Staten Island, where she has worked as a paraprofessional for 13 years. Prior to her work in a first grade classroom for the past two years, Denise has spent time in a variety of K-5 classrooms.
Patrick is a paraprofessional and Reading Rescue program coordinator at P.S./I.S. 54 in the Bronx. We visited him at school to hear about his work as a program coordinator, instructor, and all-around education leader in his community.
Jessica Alestra is a passionate first year Reading Rescue instructor at P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights, Queens. We are excited to introduce you to her here, and in our Instagram story. Jessica has recently returned to school to become a teacher, as is the case with both of her two Reading Rescue instructor colleagues. She loves being a paraprofessional and is confident that her classroom experience will make her a better teacher.