Walsh University’s School of Arts, Sciences and Education has received a $65,000 grant, through a collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, to foster literacy.
The grant, from the Ohio Department of Education, 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, according to a press release from Walsh University.
This is the third facet of the project, through the Ohio Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement initiative, which includes expanding partnerships with local school districts, Dr. Lindsey Roush, a professor with Walsh’s education division, explained.
The Bridge to Literacy Success 2.0 grant encompasses Clearmount and North Wood Elementary Schools in North Canton, McKinley Elementary School in Lisbon, 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’s faculty can model best practices in SoR literacy instruction and assessment with preservice teachers – methods proven to effectively teach children how to read, Roush said.
As further evidence, the kindergarten through grade 5 literacy achievement at partner schools has shown improvement, the press release notes.
Grade-level teachers, intervention specialists, and literacy specialists at Walsh’s partner schools have also benefited by mentoring pre-service teachers (education students preparing to become 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, Roush noted.
Walsh has been at the forefront of this movement since 2019, according to the press release, Roush said, when it restructured its existing reading curricula to expand reading science for education students and faculty to meet the needs of children from pre-kindergarten through high school, and prepare preservice and in-service teachers for the changing educational environment.
