Literacy First

📢 LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP❗We're looking forward to our book club discussion with author Maya Payne Smart tomorrow! This is your last chance to register for the virtual event on October 18th at 12 pm CDT. Join us for a conversation between Literacy First Director, Dr. Claire Hagen Alvarado and Maya Payne Smart about her book, Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six. There will also be an author Q&A, so bring your questions for Maya! Sign up today here: https://ow.ly/2ojJ50TNW6a. #LiteracyFirst #LiteracyFirst30 #ReadingForOurLives #MayaSmart #GrowingReaders #LiteracyActionPlan #EarlyLiteracy #LanguageDevelopment #EarlyLanguage #RaisingReaders #BookClub

Our 30th cohort of AmeriCorps members has been officially sworn in! Thank you to AmeriCorps Central Texas for organizing a fun swearing in event for our members and Austin Achieve Public Schools for hosting us. At the event, Literacy First tutors heard from current and past AmeriCorps Central Texas members and OneStar's Director of National Service, Jaclyn Kolar. They then took the pledge to get things done for America. After a rock, paper, scissors tournament, they enjoyed lunch and learned about other AmeriCorps grantees in Central Texas. Here's to a service year full of growth, connection, and learning! #LiteracyFirst #AmeriCorps #AmeriCorpsCTX #AmeriCorpsTX #NationalService #AmeriCorpsMembers #SwearingIn #GetThingsDoneForAmerica #AmeriCorpsPledge

We're looking forward to the AmeriCorps Central Texas swearing in ceremony tomorrow! Literacy First members will hear from current and former members, take the AmeriCorps pledge, and have the chance to meet other members serving at local organizations in Central Texas. Photo credit: Joshua Winata for OneStar #AmeriCorps #AmeriCorpsCTX #LiteracyFirst #AmeriCorpsMembers #NationalService

We're proud to be a day 1 program with OneStar since they began administering AmeriCorps Texas programs! We're celebrating 30 years alongside AmeriCorps this year and have been grantees since our program was first founded in 1994.

We love hearing what tutors learn during their time serving with Literacy First! Thanks so much Cori Dombroski for sharing your AmeriCorps impact story. AmeriCorps Central Texas AmeriCorps Alums #AmeriCorps30

By now, you've likely heard that we're on a mission to teach young children how to read, equipping them to excel in life and realize their dreams. But how exactly do we do that? Since 1994, we have partnered with public, Title I elementary schools and community organizations to offer our high-impact tutoring program to emerging readers in kindergarten, first, and second grade. Tutors work with students one-to-one every day for 30 minutes to develop critical literacy skills. We train early literacy educators to implement our model—in both English and Spanish—using our proprietary curricula, data tracking system, and coaching model. We not only train our own Literacy First tutors serving as AmeriCorps members, we also collaborate with school districts and community organizations to train their staff, including internal coaches and paraprofessional tutors, to implement our program independently. Culturally sustaining practices, data, and research drive our program, which we continually adapt to meet our students’ and partners’ needs. Tutors assess students weekly to make sure they are on track to reach their reading goals and adapt their lessons as needed. Our staff uses this data to adapt both individual instruction and our program in general as needed. This approach has yielded consistently positive results over the years! On average, 80% of students in our program show significant progress toward reaching grade-level goals. This past year, Literacy First students showed 2–3 times the growth on literacy skills assessments compared to their peers who performed similarly at the beginning of the year but did not participate in the program. We're proud of how our program has grown and shifted over the years to effectively help more students learn how to read. #LiteracyFirst #OurApproach #Literacy #EarlyLiteracy #LiteracyProgram #ReadingProgram #GrowingReaders #ReadingSupport #HighImpactTutoring #HighDosageTutoring #ReadingTutor #BilingualLiteracy #Biliteracy

We're thrilled to introduce the newest Literacy First advisory board! Our board recently convened to kick off the 2024-2025 school year. At the meeting we looked over last year's program results, announced our new strategic plan goals, reviewed our revised mission and vision, and shared opportunities to get more involved with the organization. We also welcomed Elizabeth Bayer Morgan into her role as rising chair and thanked Marisol Foster for her dedication and leadership as former chair. We're excited to step into the new school year with the following folks on our advisory board: - Elizabeth Bayer Morgan (Chair), Long-View Micro School - Tracy Benedict, Private CPA/Wealth Management Firm - John Costilla, Capstone Publishing - Paul Cruz, PhD, Retired Superintendent of Austin ISD and Former Professor at UT-Austin - Marisol Foster, Webber Family Foundation - Dax Gonzalez, Texas Association of School Boards - Linda Leibfarth, Gibbs & Crivelli - Holly McIntush-Mobley, Thompson & Horton LLP - Sheena M., Literacy First Alum and UT-Austin College of Liberal Arts - Kristi Jordan, Imagine Learning - Jeff Pinsker, University Games - Rhona Willams London, Literacy First Alum and Community Volunteer - Jessica Lovejoy, UT-Austin McCombs School of Business Board Fellow - Parth Muchhala, UT-Austin McCombs School of Business Board Fellow #LiteracyFirst #AdvisoryBoard #LiteracyProgram #ReadingProgram #BoardService #BoardMembers

Join us on Friday, October 18th for a discussion and Q&A with Maya Payne Smart, author of "Reading for Our Lives: A Literacy Action Plan from Birth to Six." Sign up to participate here: https://ow.ly/R38F50TmpwE

As students begin their journeys to reading and writing, they're guided by a few key building blocks. These basics aren't just about learning to read—they're also about sparking a love for language and a lifelong passion for learning. The building blocks include oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, and writing. At Literacy First, we use a research-proven approach to teach and practice these core components to ensure students become confident and competent readers. These skills build upon each other, creating a strong foundation that prepares students not just for academic success but for a lifelong journey of learning and exploration through words. Stay tuned to learn more about these different components of reading and how we incorporate them into our program. #LiteracyFirst #LiteracyProgram #ReadingTutor #ComponentsOfReading #ReadingProgram #ScienceOfReading #Literacy #EarlyLiteracy

This team of tutors has been hard at work getting their space ready to welcome students! ☀️🪐🌟🌙 #LiteracyFirst #LiteracyTutoring #LiteracyProgram #ClassroomDecor #ReadingProgram #ReadingIsFun #HalloweenClassroomDecor #ClassroomDoor