East Stark News

Walsh University’s School of Arts, Sciences and Education received a $65,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Education through a collaboration with the University of Cincinnati in support of the Ohio Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement initiative.  Funding will be used to sustain and expand SoR (Science of Reading) applications from past grant funding at the undergraduate and graduate levels while supporting new partnerships with local school districts.

This is the third facet of the project which includes expanding partnerships with local school districts. The Bridge to Literacy Success 2.0 grant encompasses Clearmount and North Wood Elementary Schools in North Canton, McKinley Elementary School in Lisbon Exempted Village, Watson Elementary School in the Perry Local School District, plus teaching and professional resources for Walsh literacy education students.

With support from this grant, Walsh University’s faculty can model best practices in SoR literacy instruction and assessment with preservice teachers (education students preparing to become teachers), methods proven to effectively teach children how to read.  As further proof, the K-5 literacy achievement at partner schools has shown improvement. Grade-level teachers, intervention specialists, and literacy specialists at Walsh’s partner schools have also benefited by mentoring preservice teachers in SoR principles and obtaining teaching and professional resources aligned with the SoR to raise the literacy achievement of all students in rural, suburban and urban schools.

Walsh University has been at the forefront of this movement since 2019, when it restructured its existing reading curricula to expand reading science for education students and faculty to meet the needs of P-12 students and prepare preservice and in-service teachers for the changing educational environment. 

Original source can be found here.