8085 DISC3

The stakeholders that can influence and are influenced by literacy is everyone! Students, teachers, administration, families, community members, district officials, and policymakers are all affected by literacy successes and failures. Literacy is not just for one person, race, socio-economic group, state, or country. All people throughout the world, even those in third world countries, can be influenced and can benefit from a good literacy foundation as it is tied to all learning and everything we do. Particularly in the U.S., statistics of illiteracy are linked to incarceration rates, with 70% of inmates not able to read or write above a fourth-grade level. Research has also shown that being able to read can teach empathy. This helps students to become more accepting and kind towards others. These are the reasons stakeholders must work together to provide children with a good literacy base, finding the right resources to aid students and teachers and allocating them for early identification and support (Institute for Multi-sensory Education, 2022).

One non-profit organization that has used their platform to improve student literacy outcomes for over 30 years is the Children’s Literacy Initiative, or CLI. They provide early literacy support and instruction to support Black and Latinx children. This includes training and coaching teachers, as well as providing resources such as classroom books, to help students achieve reading proficiency at or even above grade level. They believe quality literacy instruction is critical for a student’s reading development, so they have worked to educate teachers with high-impact instructional strategies, building capacity, so that literacy is being taught in a high-quality and culturally sustainable way. The American Institutes of Research found that their impacts of student learning and teacher practices were statistically significant. Their data suggests schools that implemented CLI scored higher on reading assessments compared to those that did not. CLI won a $21.7 million grant in 2010 to place their program in 38 schools through the U.S. Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation Fund. They also receive funds through individual donors, employer match gifts, and other foundation/corporate giving. 85% of their expenses go back into educating teachers and providing the resources needed in each classroom to create successful literacy learning (Children’s Literacy Initiative, 2020).

Room to Read is another nonprofit organization that began in 2000 to work towards illiteracy and gender inequality. They believe that by developing literacy skills and good reading habits, positive outcomes can happen. They want all children to get a quality education that will prepare them to make a positive impact on their families, community, and the world. Room to Read hires local nationals to lead the program in the 21 countries where it is available. 28 million children have benefitted from their literacy program, 200,000 teachers and librarians have been trained, 34 million books have been given away, and much more! They use data to improve their programs at 3,500 sites annually, tracking their results and informing stakeholders through reports for transparency. They receive support through independent donations, fundraisers, and corporate matching. The funds are used to focus on specific needs for the country they are funneled to. For example, in South Africa they are used for teacher training and instruction, assessments, and reading materials. In Laos, they are improving the infrastructure, providing quality learning materials, and support children at risk of dropping out of school. Room to Read’s company quote “world change starts with educated children” shows that they are on a mission to provide quality literacy instruction for all students (Room to Read, 2022).

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