Adolescent Literacy: Striving Readers
CTL is a primary partner in a United States Department of Education $17+ million, five-year Striving Readers grant to improve adolescent literacy, one of only eight such grants in the nation and the only one involving a consortium of rural schools. The centerpiece of the grant is CTL's Adolescent Literacy Model which takes a school-wide approach to teaching literacy based on the developmental needs of adolescents.
The Project and The Partners
As a partner organization in the Kentucky Content Literacy Consortium (KCLC), CTL leads all professional development for the Striving Readers project, including summer institutes and mentoring for more than 900 teachers in 21 Kentucky schools, and, with the University of Louisville College of Education and Human Development, the training of literacy coaches working with teachers to implement CTL's Adolescent Literacy Model in their classrooms. KCLC includes Danville Independent Schools, which also serves as fiscal agent for the grant, and both the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky. 
The other partners in KCLC are Eminence Independent, Bullitt, Pike, Washington, Jessamine and Rowan County Schools. Each is implementing two programs: 1) a proven school-wide initiative to boost achievement in all subject areas for all students through improved literacy; and 2) a research-based intervention for struggling sixth and ninth grade readers.
The grant enables KCLC to increase student achievement by improving the literacy skills of middle and high school students, including English language learners.
CTL's Adolescent Literacy Model
CTL's Adolescent Literacy Model is based on CTL’s prior work in content literacy, including research sponsored by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, and takes a school-wide approach to teaching literacy based on the developmental needs of adolescents.
Under the grant, coaches who complete 100 hours of training annually are eligible to receive a Master’s degree in secondary literacy and leadership from the University of Louisville each summer for each of the five project years. CTL staff also works with all teachers in the 21 schools through intensive Content Literacy Institutes.
“The collaborative nature of the model emphasizes work among teachers across disciplines who work with common groups of students,” says CTL Vice President for Program Design and Implementation, Amy Awbrey. “This ensures that teachers will use common methods over time, so they can build new habits of literate learning behaviors with students who would otherwise struggle to apply these skills as they learn.”
Intervention for Struggling Readers
In each project school, the literacy coaches also provide intervention for struggling readers through the Learning Strategies Curriculum, a targeted intensive program developed at the University of Kansas for sixth and ninth grade students who are reading at least two years below grade level. The University of Kentucky Collaborative Center for Literacy Development provides ongoing evaluation of all aspects of the Striving Readers work.
Also see other articles and information that provide background about this work:
- Federal Striving Readers Adolescent Literacy Work Helps Kentucky Teachers Address Student Skills
- Striving Readers Update: Schools Try New Approach to Boost Student Literacy
- CTL a Partner in $17+ Million Federal Striving Readers Grant
- $30 Million in Striving Readers Grants Awarded to Help Struggling Readers:
First grants to support president's Striving Readers program (ED.gov; March 22, 2006)
For more information, contact:
Amy Awbrey
v: 502.895.9500 x318