Mobilizing Literacy

Mobilizing Literacy is a grant funded by the W. S. & E. C. Jones Trust with the intent to improve grade-level reading attainment within participating schools within the tri-county region of Coffey, Lyon and Osage counties by focusing specifically on school readiness, summer learning, and attendance. The grant began in 2016 and is scheduled to conclude in 2021. Emporia State University manages the funds by soliciting the yearly action plans from the 11 school districts and collects the assessments and writes the yearly reports on progress to the Jones Trust.

The design of this initiative requires all participant schools, as part of their application for funding, to provide a description of the current situation faced by the school district and the recent trend lines for high school graduation, third grade reading, school readiness, school attendance, and summer learning. Each district was required to work with a consultant assigned by Emporia State University to assist with the development of their action plan, with goals, strategies, and metrics to address their challenges. One constant metric monitored across all participating districts will be the number of students meeting or exceeding third grade reading standards.