Empowering Students Through Literacy | | |
Serving the St. Louis City Schools | |
Literacy and Hope is proud to announce that on October 28, 2024, we launched our reading intervention program in two public schools within St. Louis City, where we are currently supporting eight eager students on their journey to literacy. We are offering one-on-one sessions for 45 minutes to 1 hour twice a week. This initiative not only fosters a love for reading but also empowers these young learners with the skills they need to succeed academically and beyond. By providing personalized attention and tailored resources, we are committed to making a meaningful difference in their lives and the community with our FREE program. Our program has a 4-pillar approach. Each session consists of a Science of Reading Curriculum (we have purchased three different proven researched based curriculums to achieve our goals), Relationship Building Cards, Self-Esteem Workbook, and Neuroscience (Executive Functioning Workbook).
We have hired five Coaches(tutors) to facilitate these sessions. Our coaches are trained on the material as well as provided two sessions of shadowing by another coach or the program leader prior to starting with a student. These individuals are dedicated to making a difference and seeing this program succeed.
Together, we can transform the narrative of literacy in St. Louis and ensure a brighter future for all children. Let us stand united in hope and motivation, working hand in hand to uplift our youth and empower them through education. Join Literacy and Hope on this critical journey toward improving literacy for all children in St. Louis. Your support can make a world of difference.
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We are Piloting Online Tutoring | |
Literacy and Hope is excited to announce the launch of pilot online tutoring program in November 2024 which was designed specifically for a St. Louis County middle school student who is reading at a second-grade level. This initiative reflects our core values of compassion and empowerment, providing individualized support that caters to the unique needs of each learner. With sessions held twice a week, he benefits from tailored instruction that fosters both academic growth and confidence. This program has not been opened to the masses as of yet. |
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Kathy's Corner
God has truly blessed Literacy and Hope, allowing us to raise nearly $30,000 in 2024 to kickstart our vital literacy program. This allowed us to purchase the multiple science of reading curriculum, student workbooks, additional reading material, copiers, tablets for students/coaches, fulfill school year contracts with our five coaches(tutors), pay program leader, and more.
A heartfelt thank you goes out to our generous supporters, the seven dedicated women on our board, and our five passionate coaches who are unwavering in their commitment to help students achieve grade-level reading proficiency.
As the demand for our program grows, with one school requesting that we take on 24 more students, we recognize the urgent need for continued support. Each coach cost $1,500 to tutor a student for an entire school year twice a week, and we aspire to extend our services into the summer and launch additional programs in North County this August. This $1,500 only covers the coaches and we have other expenses (program leader, admin, etc). We are ready to rise to this challenge, and with your support, we can make a transformative impact in our community.
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The reading crisis in St. Louis, MO, has reached alarming levels, with recent statistics revealing that only 25% of third graders are reading at grade level. This issue disproportionately affects the African American community, where the numbers drop even lower, highlighting the urgent need for targeted interventions. | |
At Literacy and Hope, we recognize the significant literacy hurdles that some of our students currently face, including two third graders, a first grader, and a kindergartener testing at a pre-kindergarten level, alongside a second grader, three third graders, and a sixth grader struggling with blending age-appropriate words, comprehension, and spelling. | |
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Summer Success: We worked with a 6th grader who tested below grade level proficiency during the school year in reading with her school’s standardized test (NWEA). In only 6 sessions, we were able to improve her reading proficiency and joy for reading. In fact, this is a testimony from her parents.
“Avery thrived working with Miss Kim. She looked forward to her sessions, picked out books and saved them to read with her and really grew her interest and confidence in reading. Prior to working with this program, she was flagged at her school for reading deficiencies based on a standardized test. After working with Miss Kim over the summer, her testing scores improved dramatically! The school specialist said if she scored this well the next test, she would be removed from this reading intervention list completely. We hear a lot about the summer slide in learning, but we experienced the complete opposite by working with this program. Our daughter had fun, looked forward to it, improved her reading interest, improved her reading stamina, improved her reading accuracy and improved her reading test scores!”
This is why we want to launch a summer program in 2025!
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Our First Student's Success & Struggles | |
In August 2023, Literacy and Hope launched our pilot tutoring program with a 12th grader in St. Louis City Public Schools who struggled with foundational literacy skills, having not yet learned her letter sounds. Through consistent weekly sessions with a dedicated tutor, we have witnessed remarkable progress; she has learned her letter sounds, she is blending/sounding out seven-letter words, learning the 109 high frequency words, and advancing in her phonemic awareness. She has moved from pre-
kindergarten status to end of kindergarten status.
She graduated in 2024 but is ill-equipped for the job market or college because of her poor literacy skills. I’m sure you’re as puzzled by this as I am. How can someone graduate but cannot read? Unfortunately, it is happening more than we realize. Research shows that 1 out of 5 Americans (43 million), read below a third-grade level. She and these statistics are a prime example of why we need to reach students at an early age and why this program is so vital. She still struggles with confidence and often doesn’t try to read because for so long she hasn’t been able to read. We continue to work with her weekly on reading literacy as well as employment.
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| Literacy and Hope | www.literacyandhope.org | St Louis, MO 63108 US | |
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