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What is a Literacy Collaborative school?

Becoming a Literacy Collaborative school is a long-term process that involves comprehensive school change.

A Literacy Collaborative school is defined as one with characteristics as described below:

  • Teachers and administrators in the school and district have entered into a collaborative long-term relationship with a regional university that is implementing a research-based Literacy Collaborative program.

  • The school forms a leadership team to support and monitor the program.

  • The school has a trained Literacy Coordinator(LC) who teaches children daily (50% to 70% time) in year 1. During the field year (year 2), the Literacy Coordinator continues to teach children (50% to 70%) and also provides staff development (30% to 50% time) including (a) providing an initial course for primary teachers; (b) providing in-class assistance to teachers by demonstration, coaching, and reflection on teaching; (c) planning and working collaboratively with all teachers in the school.

  • From the second year of participation, the majority of primary teachers at a school are engaged in the Literacy Collaborative training and follow-up support. The Literacy Coordinator and primary teachers are continually engaged in updating their knowledge and refining skills through ongoing training and support.

  • There are adequate materials to support rich literacy programs in Grades K-3 and to implement the literacy framework using four kinds of reading and four kinds of writing.

  • Reading Recovery is provided as a safety net for children who, even while experiencing an effective literacy program, are having difficulty in the initial stages of learning to read and write.

  • There is a home reading program with parent outreach.

  • Teachers in the school collect and analyze data to assess the effectiveness of the program. Data are collected yearly and provided to Georgia State University and The Ohio State University.

  • The school is registered with Georgia State University and The Ohio State University as an active Literacy Collaborative school. With the registration, schools are granted permission to use Literacy Collaborative training materials within the school and to use the trademarked name on a royalty-free basis.