Literacy Lab

In December of 2016, my newborn daughter Lydia would not sleep. Ever. At all. In an effort to take my mind off of her 2am crying one night, I began to think of out-of-the-box ways to address a prevalent problem with our earliest readers: insecure foundational literacy skills in first graders. Within weeks, the groundwork for our Literacy Lab was in place.

For three years, we have worked with every kindergarten and first grade student to develop and refine foundational reading and writing skills. Using a workshop model paired with the literacy processing research of Marie Clay and Reading Recovery, Engelhard readers visit the Literacy Lab once a week as an additional piece of tier I instruction. We have also modeled, coached, mentored, guided, and collaborated with our kindergarten and first grade teachers to spread best practices in early literacy.

Our Lab has hosted visitors from over 20 schools from various states and districts who were interested in developing their own Literacy Lab, and many schools have successfully done so. I have facilitated professional development at several district and regional conferences, in addition to regular PD at the school level. We have hosted district leaders, the superintendent, and even the mayor! But most importantly, the literacy abilities of Engelhard's earliest readers have improved.

We have proliferated the work, and innumerable students have benefited. The Literacy Lab is a success. I am proud of this work, and I am thankful to my Lydia and her sleepless nights!