Improving the literacy lives of children. That’s our impact.

We have been making an impact on children’s lives through literacy for more than 30 years.

Why Literacy Matters

Every child has the right to grow up as a member of a joyfully literate community in our schools.  It is our responsibility to design inclusive systems and to monitor the evidence that the educational system has assured every child their human right.  

Children need to experience the joy of reading, the power of using writing and images to share their voices, the ability to think analytically and critically, and the ability to talk and express their ideas through language. Children also need to be able to use their language and literacy competencies to learn across disciplines, to know how to learn, to expand their knowledge, and to take action in their world. 

Literacy is a passport to a healthy, happy and productive life. The children in our schools today count on us to assure their rights as human beings in our society. As responsive teachers and leaders, we understand well that children’s literacy matters and the limits of our expertise will be the only barrier to their success. 

Our Expertise

The Center has been engaged in 30 years of innovative, research-based, system-wide educational improvement efforts. We distinguish ourselves by delivering highly specialized professional learning grounded in the work of Marie Clay and Fountas & Pinnell. By developing educators’ understandings of this specific theoretical perspective, we help them make profound and sustained changes not just in what they do, but what they understand and how they think about literacy teaching and learning. Independent evaluations demonstrate the success of our work. The Center’s in-house researcher and evaluator provides ongoing feedback about improvement for students, teachers, and schools.

A major focus of our work is to ensure that schools provide access and equity for all learners. Our research, development and training focus on Lesley University’s core mission to close the opportunity gap and create social change. 

Our Reach

The Center has a history of high-profile partnership grants and contracts. The team has served more than 50,000 educators across the nation and around the world. We work with a wide range of schools located in urban, suburban, and rural settings. The schools we work with reflect the linguistic, economic and racial/ethnic diversity of students across the United States. Our work meets the needs of all learners including English language learners and students with special needs.