Grace College opens literacy center made possible by Lilly grant
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As Indiana lawmakers increase the importance of literacy for third graders in the state, a new center at Grace College will train instructors on how to teach reading more effectively.
Grace College cut the ribbon Monday on its new Center for Literacy and Learning (CLL) in Mount Memorial Hall on its campus in Winona Lake. The center is designed to improve teacher candidate knowledge on the Science of Reading practices.
The center will also collaborate with local school districts on literacy-focused initiatives. Grace College said the CLL’s three pillars are teacher and leader preparation, classroom application and community engagement.
“The Center for Literacy and Learning is our collective response to the need for literacy,” said Rachael Hoffert, director of the center and chair of the elementary education at Grace College. “We believe every child has the right and ability to read, which is why, at the most basic level, our mission is to empower readers and empower leaders.”
The center has already established a partnership with nearby Jefferson Elementary School, where educators can work with children there to help build reading skills, while also helping teachers and teaching candidates apply Science of Reading based strategies. The CLL will also offer tutoring for kindergarten through 5th grade students in the community.
The CLL was made possible with the help of a $750,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. late last year to the college’s education department. The grant was part of Lilly’s Advancing the Science of Reading in Indiana initiative.
The Science of Reading approach to literacy instruction focuses on teaching phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension.
The center’s opening comes as the 2024-25 school year will be the first in which schools are required to hold back third grade students who don’t pass the state IREAD exam. The law also requires schools to start administering proficiency testing in second grade and offer additional tutoring, resources and summer courses to students at risk of failing the IREAD exam.