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Community DC Dr. Heather Jenkins The Literacy Lab · Community D.C.

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Good morning, and welcome to another edition of Community d C.
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  Speaker 1: I'm your host Dennis Glasgow. This morning, we welcome to
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  Speaker 1: the program doctor Heather Jenkins. She is the president and
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  Speaker 1: CEO for the Literacy Lab in Washington, d C, a
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  Speaker 1: nonprofit organization that provides children in the underresourced communities with
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  Speaker 1: evidence based reading instruction. Their goal is to close the
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  Speaker 1: literacy gap for children ages three to grade three, ensuring
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  Speaker 1: students are reading at grade level before they make a
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  Speaker 1: critical shift from learning to read to reading to learn.
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  Speaker 1: Here's my conversation with Heather. I hope you enjoy it
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  Speaker 1: as much as I did. Good morning, Heather, Good morning. Well,
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  Speaker 1: it is great to have you aboard Community DC for
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  Speaker 1: the first time, so welcome. And I did a short
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  Speaker 1: little intro about Literacy Lab, but I would love to
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  Speaker 1: get the history of it. I know that everything was
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  Speaker 1: born in two thousand and nine, so it's been around
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  Speaker 1: for about seventeen years. How did everything get started?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, so our co CEOs, who were also the co founders,
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  Speaker 2: were teachers in a Washington in DC high school and
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  Speaker 2: they were working with ninth graders and saw that the
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  Speaker 2: vast majority of their ninth readers were not anywhere near
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  Speaker 2: grade level literacy, and really we're kind of struggling.
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  Speaker 3: With what do we do about this?
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  Speaker 2: These young people are talented and wonderful and incredibly behind,
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  Speaker 2: and so they really didn't feel that they could kind
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  Speaker 2: of tackle that challenge within the high school setting. They
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  Speaker 2: ended up leaving teaching and founding the Literacy Lab, And
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  Speaker 2: originally we were kind of an after school program, and
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  Speaker 2: then in twenty twelve, through a variety of some partnerships
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  Speaker 2: that we had made, we were selected as a replication
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  Speaker 2: partner for the Reading Core model, which was really considered
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  Speaker 2: one of the one of the best literacy models on
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  Speaker 2: the market, and that really changed the trajectory of the
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  Speaker 2: organization and how we kind of ended up moving from
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  Speaker 2: being Washington, d c. To having kind of multiple locations
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  Speaker 2: across the country. That also is when we became an
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  Speaker 2: AmeriCorps organization, which again kind of changed the footprint in
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  Speaker 2: terms of at the height of the work, we had
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  Speaker 2: about three hundred AmeriCorps members across multiple locations providing literacy
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  Speaker 2: services to students in pre K through third grade.
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  Speaker 3: So that's kind of where everything began.
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  Speaker 2: As that was taking off in twenty sixteen through a
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  Speaker 2: partnership with DC Public Schools and some leaders in DC
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  Speaker 2: who were really kind of looking at the literacy crisis
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  Speaker 2: and also the underrepresentation of men of color in education
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  Speaker 2: kind of presented the Literacy Lab with an opportunity to
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  Speaker 2: host a program called the Leading Men Fellowship, and based
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  Speaker 2: on our organization, k what you know the work that
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  Speaker 2: we were doing through the America Program, we said absolutely yes.
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  Speaker 3: That program also kind.
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  Speaker 2: Of took off and ended up in Baltimore and Virginia
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  Speaker 2: and multiple other locations as well, and we ran that
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  Speaker 2: program right through to twenty twenty five. When we ended
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  Speaker 2: up opening up that program, that was after actually closing
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  Speaker 2: our America Program in twenty twenty four. I'm happy to
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  Speaker 2: share more about the why for that, But we then
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  Speaker 2: opened up the Fellowship and really wanted to focus on
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  Speaker 2: community rooted educators. We know that the research is very
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  Speaker 2: very clear when children see themselves reflected in their teachers,
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  Speaker 2: they really thrive socially, emotionally, and academically. And so our
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  Speaker 2: work really helps folks who have an interest in education
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  Speaker 2: from within the communities that we work with, who don't
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  Speaker 2: have any background in education. You don't need to have
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  Speaker 2: a degree in education you actually don't need to have
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  Speaker 2: anything other than a high school diploma to join our program,
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  Speaker 2: and that's something that sets us apart from other teacher
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  Speaker 2: prep programs where usually you need to have a bachelor's degree.
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  Speaker 2: We say, if you have graduated high school and you
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  Speaker 2: have an interest in supporting the education of our youngest learners,
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  Speaker 2: come on in and we will provide you with not
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  Speaker 2: only what you need to work with those students in
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  Speaker 2: the moment, but also provide you with some career pathways
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  Speaker 2: to kind of move you toward your goals in an
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  Speaker 2: education career outstanding?
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  Speaker 1: Will you really set the map for us, Heather, for
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  Speaker 1: the next thirty minutes, to really find out about a
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  Speaker 1: lot about Literacy Lab. I do want to do this
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  Speaker 1: because we have a lot to talk about the programs
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  Speaker 1: and how you're funded, and all the different things that
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  Speaker 1: you do and how far your net is. I do
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  Speaker 1: want to talk about just kind of setting the table
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  Speaker 1: for our listeners about what you do. Because you were
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  Speaker 1: starting to explain it. But but if you were to
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  Speaker 1: give a thirty thousand foot view about what you do
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  Speaker 1: and execute, what would you tell people?
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, so I.
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  Speaker 2: Would say our work really kind of is at the
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  Speaker 2: nexus of the national literacy crisis and kind of that
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  Speaker 2: the teacher workforce crisis that we've been experiencing really since
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  Speaker 2: the pandemic before, but since then, and so we provide
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  Speaker 2: direct literacy instruction to students. We do that through our
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  Speaker 2: literacy Fellows. They are also part of our workforce development
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  Speaker 2: program in terms of becoming teachers, and so they come
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  Speaker 2: in they have about forty hours of training before they
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  Speaker 2: go into classrooms, so they'll join us at the start
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  Speaker 2: of the school year. They will get this training not
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  Speaker 2: only in literacy instruction, but also in child development and
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  Speaker 2: classroom management.
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  Speaker 3: And just kind of being in the classroom.
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  Speaker 2: And then they are placed with a lead teacher in
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  Speaker 2: a classroom and they are there to provide specific literacy
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  Speaker 2: services for kind of a five hour period that they
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  Speaker 2: are there every single day that school is open. They
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  Speaker 2: are there for those five hours and they're providing whole
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  Speaker 2: class instruction, they're providing small group instruction, and they're also
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  Speaker 2: providing individualized instruction. And kind of how that works is
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  Speaker 2: based on where students are in terms of their needs.
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  Speaker 2: Whole class instruction is kind of moving the entire class forward.
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  Speaker 2: In terms of our pre kindergarteners and getting them ready
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  Speaker 2: for kindergarten. The next group that would be in a
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  Speaker 2: small group of students who are kind of not on
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  Speaker 2: grade level but approaching, and then those students who need
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  Speaker 2: the most support will have that one on one support.
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  Speaker 2: And there's kind of a schedule that we work out
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  Speaker 2: with the classroom teacher in terms of where our fellows
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  Speaker 2: are kind of plugging in throughout the day to kind
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  Speaker 2: of meet the requirements that our program is. If we
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  Speaker 2: don't follow that with fidelity, we're not going to see
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  Speaker 2: the results. So we work really closely with our classroom
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  Speaker 2: teachers to say this is what we do and how
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  Speaker 2: we do it, and really educate them on it so that
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  Speaker 2: they can say, Okay, this is kind of the flow
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  Speaker 2: of the classroom, and this is how the fellow is
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  Speaker 2: able to really get in there and provide that literacy support.
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  Speaker 2: So they are doing that during the day. They also
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  Speaker 2: have additional professional development and time that they are with
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  Speaker 2: us with our staff, yes, in terms of more literacy instruction,
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  Speaker 2: and we're constantly refining those skills based on some observation
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  Speaker 2: coaching that we do for our fellows. But then we
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  Speaker 2: also have the part that is really about them and
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  Speaker 2: their professional growth. What are things that will be really
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  Speaker 2: helpful to them as they move into their next steps
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  Speaker 2: in their career and education. So the fellowship is a
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  Speaker 2: one year program. There is an option to come back
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  Speaker 2: for a second year. And so the work that we've
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  Speaker 2: been doing really over the past years to really kind
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  Speaker 2: of hotify this is kind of what we're doing with
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  Speaker 2: folks in the first year. This is what we're doing
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  Speaker 2: with folks in the second year who weren't quite ready
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  Speaker 2: to take their next step outside of the Literacy Lab
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  Speaker 2: and need a little bit more time with us, but
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  Speaker 2: also already get the program for a year, and so
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  Speaker 2: we want to provide them with some acceleration as well.
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  Speaker 2: So I think, in a nutshell, that's that's what we do.
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  Speaker 1: You know, it is so outstanding, it's almost a twofer
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  Speaker 1: that you're doing here. Not only are these kids getting
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  Speaker 1: some extra reading in and working on all literacy issues
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  Speaker 1: that the DMB has specifically in Washington, DC, and I
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  Speaker 1: do want to talk about your net and more criterions
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  Speaker 1: a second, but also the teachers getting real world experience.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you can read so many textbooks or have
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  Speaker 1: somebody talk at you or look at a PowerPoint. But
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  Speaker 1: the feedback MutS be extraordinary because they get that real world,
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  Speaker 1: hands on experience and you know, it doesn't matter what
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  Speaker 1: you do for a living, that you get to actually
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  Speaker 1: trained to do that is extraordinary. I think it's a
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  Speaker 1: great idea.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we've just heard positive results not only from our fellows,
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  Speaker 2: but also the schools that we work with who end
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  Speaker 2: up hiring our fellows because of how they perform in
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  Speaker 2: that year. And yeah, absolutely, I was a classroom teacher
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  Speaker 2: myself in my prior life, and nothing really.
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  Speaker 3: Prepares you for it other than doing it.
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  Speaker 2: And I think something that we have seen is that,
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  Speaker 2: for example, some fellows have realized I love working with kids,
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  Speaker 2: I love working with young people, but I'm not sure
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  Speaker 2: classroom teacher is the right role for me. And we've
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  Speaker 2: had folks go into counseling or speech pathology or some
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  Speaker 2: other kind of education related fields but not being in
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  Speaker 2: the classroom. We've had some since our fellowship to date
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  Speaker 2: has been focused on pre K Some have said they're
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  Speaker 2: really cute, and.
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  Speaker 3: I really love that.
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  Speaker 2: However, I think an older age group, I definitely know
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  Speaker 2: I want to be a classroom teacher, but I'm thinking
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  Speaker 2: that maybe kindergarten, first grade, maybe middles school is where
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  Speaker 2: I want to be, And they wouldn't have necessarily known
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  Speaker 2: that without kind of having this exposure and something that
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  Speaker 2: will be coming for our new fellows that will be
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  Speaker 2: joining us this fall will actually be expanding and we'll
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  Speaker 2: be working with kindergarten excuse me, pre k kindergarten and
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  Speaker 2: first grade students, So those fellows will really get a
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  Speaker 2: taste of working with those three different age groups and
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  Speaker 2: be able to get a sense does one of these fit?
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  Speaker 2: Am I still maybe looking for something that's in the
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  Speaker 2: older elementary grades or beyond very good?
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  Speaker 1: So I alluded to this. So when it comes to
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  Speaker 1: your net in the D and F based out of DC,
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  Speaker 1: how far is it spread out.
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  Speaker 2: In terms of in d C, we have overwhelmingly served.
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  Speaker 2: We've served actually in I think almost every ward in
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  Speaker 2: d C. We really yeah, we really look at the
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  Speaker 2: data and as we have really focused and concentrated seven
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  Speaker 2: and eight when you look at the data are the
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  Speaker 2: places where we've spent a bulk of our time. But
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  Speaker 2: certainly wards for and five were and work for this year.
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  Speaker 2: So it also it depends on looking at that literacy
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  Speaker 2: data and where the need is greate, but also looking
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  Speaker 2: at our partners and kind of their needs and how
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  Speaker 2: those needs might change. Here to you, there might be
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  Speaker 2: a partner who really needs us for a certain set
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  Speaker 2: of years and.
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  Speaker 3: Then maybe they don't or maybe they don't have some
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  Speaker 3: of their funding.
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  Speaker 2: We've all experienced various funding cuts in the education field,
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  Speaker 2: nonprofit and in schools, so it's also kind of depending
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  Speaker 2: on kind of partner needs and you know, the funding
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  Speaker 2: to make sure that we're able to implement the work
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  Speaker 2: as well.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Heather, when we get an opportunity to talk
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  Speaker 1: to great people like you and your team, thank god
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  Speaker 1: you're around because I know and I want to ask
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  Speaker 1: you about data and literacy issues that are in DC.
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  Speaker 1: And listen, this is not exclusive to DC, folks. There
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  Speaker 1: are literacy issues all over the world, specifically in the
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  Speaker 1: United States. And we can go to a multiple reasons
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  Speaker 1: why and it can be its own podcast. And I
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  Speaker 1: know that sometimes data can be pretty shocking, Heather. So
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  Speaker 1: with that said, what's the latest data that you're working
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  Speaker 1: with when it comes to literacy in DC.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean nationally, d C is actually doing well.
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  Speaker 2: And I say that, and I want to say relatively speaking.
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  Speaker 2: Every time I have an opportunity to speak, I use
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  Speaker 2: the language national literacy crisis, because it is it is
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  Speaker 2: a national crisis. It affects across populations across the country.
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  Speaker 2: Does it hit certain communities harder than others, absolutely, but
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  Speaker 2: it is really something that nationally we should be thinking
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  Speaker 2: more about and talking more about, and taking more actions.
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  Speaker 2: So I just want to say that, so relative to
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  Speaker 2: the rest of the country.
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  Speaker 3: DC has actually improved over the past few years.
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  Speaker 2: And I will say like we are one of many
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  Speaker 2: partners that DC has really brought in to achieve those results.
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  Speaker 3: And I think one of the.
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  Speaker 2: Things that we know and we see is that when
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  Speaker 2: you look at the way classrooms are set up, if
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  Speaker 2: you have a teacher who is and I say at
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  Speaker 2: this point, like lucky enough, because not every teacher has
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  Speaker 2: a pair of professional who is supporting them, a teacher
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  Speaker 2: ad a teacher assistant who is supporting them as their
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  Speaker 2: partner in the classroom. But even when they do, those
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  Speaker 2: two folks are not able to meet the needs of
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  Speaker 2: all of the children. And in one class, when we assess,
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  Speaker 2: we are seeing students who are incredibly far from grade level,
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  Speaker 2: shockingly so.
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  Speaker 3: And then We're seeing students who are on or.
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  Speaker 2: Above grade level right and everything in between. And so
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  Speaker 2: how does one teacher with their assistant kind of structure
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  Speaker 2: the day and the content to meet all of those
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  Speaker 2: needs they can't at And that's where we and other
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  Speaker 2: partners come in because we're able to provide that targeted support. So,
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  Speaker 2: you know, things have definitely improved in DC at large.
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  Speaker 2: I will say one of the things that I caution
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  Speaker 2: when people look at that data is you have to
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  Speaker 2: look at each ward because there's a pretty big gap
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  Speaker 2: when you look at wards where there is more resources,
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  Speaker 2: where there are more resources, and wards where there are less.
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  Speaker 2: When you look at wards that are overwhelmingly kind of
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  Speaker 2: higher concentrations of poverty and things like that, greater disinvestment,
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  Speaker 2: you see the literacy spores follow suit.
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  Speaker 3: Right, No one should be shocked by that.
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  Speaker 2: More resources, you know, more professional development for teachers, smaller
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  Speaker 2: class sizes, all of those things, right along with just
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  Speaker 2: general wealth in the community is going to create a
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  Speaker 2: situation where those students are going to thrive, They are
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  Speaker 2: going to learn more, they are going to be able
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  Speaker 2: to kind of accelerate in a way that where there's
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  Speaker 2: less resources, higher concentrations of poverty where you look at
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  Speaker 2: kind the adult populations in those wards and the educational
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  Speaker 2: attainment of those adult populations, because the community around the
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  Speaker 2: child is the fird teacher, right, and so for example,
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  Speaker 2: if I'm reading to my kids when they were babies,
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  Speaker 2: which I did, right, that changes their trajectory. I was
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  Speaker 2: an educator, I had education. I knew to do that, right,
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  Speaker 2: I had the resources to do that. Where I believe
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  Speaker 2: every single parent in every ward in.
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  Speaker 3: DC absolutely wants the best for their children.
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  Speaker 2: Some have greater access and greater knowledge than others, and
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  Speaker 2: that is going to then be brought into the school
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  Speaker 2: and we are able to see that when we kind
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  Speaker 2: of go in and assess.
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  Speaker 1: I imagine that when parents or caregivers and schools find
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  Speaker 1: out about Literacy Lab, they're just blown away with excitement
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  Speaker 1: that you're here along with your team. With that said,
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  Speaker 1: when somebody wants to partner with you when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to the schoolassic side, how does everything work?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I will say we get a lot of referrals,
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  Speaker 2: which is great. You know, if we've been around for
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  Speaker 2: a while, and again, we were founded in d C,
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  Speaker 2: so lots of folks know us, and so we'll you know,
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  Speaker 2: kind of get outreach to any one of us, either
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: on the programmatic side, or sometimes folks will come directly
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  Speaker 2: to me if my name emails the most visible on
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: the website and just kind of say here's I'm connected
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  Speaker 2: to this.
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  Speaker 3: School or this early learning center.
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  Speaker 2: And we are definitely seeing, you know, some challenges with literacy.
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  Speaker 3: We're looking for X, Y and Z. Are you able
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  Speaker 3: to help us out?
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  Speaker 2: And now we're really in a better position as we
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: go into next year to be able to say yes
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: to more of the request that we've had over the years.
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  Speaker 2: We're now able to provide after school in summer programming,
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: which is something we weren't able to provide before. We're
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: really excited about that, Like I mentioned, more grade levels,
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  Speaker 2: and also we're able to provide training and coaching for teachers,
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  Speaker 2: classroom assistance, pair of professionals that really amplifies the impact
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  Speaker 2: of the work in the schools. So folks can reach
• 17:23
  Speaker 2: out to us. I'm on our website. Everybody's kind of
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: on our website to reach out to.
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  Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you about a bigger question about
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  Speaker 1: us versus the world, and I think it's been well documented.
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  Speaker 1: Then it comes to math and reading and writing. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: we big shortfalls with other countries. Now, with that said,
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  Speaker 1: we are a huge country, and there are economic discrepancies
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  Speaker 1: all over the place, especially when you get outside and
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  Speaker 1: inside of urban areas. So with that said, when you
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  Speaker 1: take a look at some of the data around the world,
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  Speaker 1: how are we comparing right now to where we're at
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  Speaker 1: and where they're at.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we have a lot of room will I
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  Speaker 2: will say, we have a lot of room for improvement.
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  Speaker 3: I think that.
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  Speaker 2: I have a background in educational research as well, and
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  Speaker 2: one of the things that I'm always struck by when
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: I look at kind of the decisions that we make
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  Speaker 2: in US educationally, particularly public education, we don't often follow
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  Speaker 2: the most compelling research around what really has a positive impact,
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  Speaker 2: or we do it long after other countries have been
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  Speaker 2: doing it for a very long time, right, And so
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  Speaker 2: those are the kinds of things that you know, when
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  Speaker 2: we're one of the wealthiest nations in the world, I
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  Speaker 2: do kind of scratch my head about why are we
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  Speaker 2: We're still.
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  Speaker 3: Using in a lot of places strategies from the nineteen seventies.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the irony in terms.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and not only literacy, but just in general teaching
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  Speaker 2: and learning, we've kind of relied.
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  Speaker 1: Can I ask you about that? Is that a shortfall
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: of cash and resources? Is that why that's happening that
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: we're so far I mean, we're talking about fifty years
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: of stuff that we're still using. I mean, my goodness,
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: that's a little alarming, it is.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: And I don't think it's just a matter of cash
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: and resources. I think, you know, as humans, we get
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: comfortable with things and we're not necessarily always wanting to change.
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: And I think that I have found that particularly so
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: in education. I think that if you were to ask
• 19:44
  Speaker 2: a lot of teachers, and I know I felt this
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: way as a teacher myself, there wasn't always a good
• 19:52
  Speaker 2: kind of connection to kind of the community needs and
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: kind of decisions that are being made, you know, sometimes
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: at the district level, sometimes at a school level, right
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: as we work with partners.
• 20:05
  Speaker 3: Who are thinking about this.
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: So again that that is a general statement, and we
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: work every day with partners who are thinking about it,
• 20:16
  Speaker 2: who are looking at the data, who are saying what
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: can we do differently and better to improve the education
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: that we provide our students.
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: But I think there's kind of more.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: National decisions that are made that then kind of trickle
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: down to states and then localities that you know, we
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: talk about the science of reading that I think this
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: is a good one, right, this is very much the language.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: Now there's a lot of legislation coming out that you know,
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: nothing can be used in schools that is not aligned
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: with the science of reading. Dennis, we were founded using
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: the science of reading in two thousand and nine.
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: It's not you, it's.
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: Not something revolutionary, it's not something that just came out,
• 21:05
  Speaker 2: and it's actually something that goes back to a more
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: phonics based way of teaching and learning. That was something
• 21:15
  Speaker 2: that I remember in the eighties having, right, and so
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: we kind of cycle through different like oh, this is
• 21:22
  Speaker 2: the thing, and then we put all of our eggs
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: in that basket. I think we don't necessarily make sure
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: that every educator has all of the training that they
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: need to then take that and really implement that with fidelity.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: But we tend to kind of hop around where the
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: research has been clear for a really long time that
• 21:45
  Speaker 2: there's a certain again science behind how we structure the
• 21:51
  Speaker 2: learning for literacy, how we do it so that students
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: are able to kind of transfer I'm practicing reading in
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: this context, but I can take my reading skills then
• 22:04
  Speaker 2: to this other very different context, right, And that's something
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: that even in a lot of the quote unquote intervention
• 22:14
  Speaker 2: and additive instructional literacy, we're not always paying attention to
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: those things. And that's something that my team and I
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: want to make sure, like not just that a student
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: can read something, but what does the data say about
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: them actually being able to understand it and ask questions
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: about it? And what does the data say about them
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: being able to take those skills and take them to history,
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: to science, to understanding a mathematical word problem, because that's
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: literacy as well. And so I think that we've put
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: literacy in this is English Language arts.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: We're going to do it in a particular context.
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: So we're going to do it in a particular way
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: instead of really looking at literacy as a interdisciplinary skill
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: that needs to be taught in interdisciplinary ways.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Very good. Thank you for that, Heather. And when we
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: get our listeners at Community DC excited about certain subjects
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: like this one that's helping a lot of young people
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: and educators out there, they always want to know how
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: are you funded and how can they help? So how
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: are you funded.
• 23:21
  Speaker 2: Yes, So we are overwhelmingly funded philanthropically at the moment.
• 23:28
  Speaker 2: We did have a lot of government funding that has
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: since really changed over the past couple of years, what's
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: kind of changes in the federal landscape, and so we
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: you know, in DC, we've had tried and true philanthropic
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: partners who've been with us pretty much since the beginning,
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: and we're really really grateful to.
• 23:50
  Speaker 3: Those folks because they've stuck with us through a lot.
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: Of changes that we need to make to ensure that
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: we're able to sustain our work and then you know,
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: really be able to scale through this new strategy that
• 24:04
  Speaker 2: we have, and so that's foundations, that's also individuals. We
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: also do have contracts with our schools. We always want
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: to make sure that that is kept low because again,
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: a lot of the schools that we work with would
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: be considered under resourced and so we're not going to
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: kind of charge them the bulk of the fees. We're
• 24:27
  Speaker 2: hoping that there's kind of wrap around from that philanthropic community.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: We're hoping to get some corporate support in there as
• 24:36
  Speaker 2: we really seek to diversify things a bit more and
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: kind of replace some of the government funding that we
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: used to have, and so folks can get involved on
• 24:45
  Speaker 2: our on our website, there's a development page, there's lots
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: of places to kind of donate and learn more on
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: our website, and we also welcome there's a partnerships email
• 24:55
  Speaker 2: for folks who are interested in kind of reaching out
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: about partnerships, but also folks who just have any questions
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: and kind of are listening to this and just like
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: want to dig in and understand a little bit more.
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: It will come as no surprise to.
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: Anyone who has spent any amount of time with me
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: that I love talking about this work. I'm incredibly passionate
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: about it. My email is on the website, and anybody
• 25:18
  Speaker 2: who wanted to reach out and just you know, kind
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: of connect with me and find out more, I'm always
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: happy to do that.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Well, it's talking to surprise you. Every nonprofit we we've
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: talked to, nobody is passionless. Say everybody's got passion because
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: it's a one or two person operation, and we really
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: appreciate that. I only have about four minutes left, but
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: I don't know if you have time to till it.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: But it's kind of the and I'd love to ask
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: this question about this is why we get up every day.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: You've been with the organization for five and a half years.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: I'm sure you've seen some very special stories and some
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: incredible things, also some hardshets out there. But is there
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: something quickly you could share with us about this is
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: why we get up every day. Kind of story about
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: something special that happened with a family or an educator,
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: or something that just touched your heart.
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I'll share things.
• 26:01
  Speaker 2: Really for the two sides of our dual model.
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: I remember being on a site visit.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: We had some of our again longtime DC funders who
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: were coming in to kind of see the work in action.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: We were in a pre K classroom and my team
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: had left with our guests, and I was coloring and
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: talking with students. And they are the reason that we
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: get up and do this. They are the reason that,
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: through some incredible challenges that we faced organizationally, we keep
• 26:31
  Speaker 2: on going. That is really the heart and soul of
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: the work is being able to bring this work to
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: students and see them grow and thrive. And this morning
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: I received an email from a former fellow who is
• 26:48
  Speaker 2: now a classroom teacher, and he is on our alumni
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: board and he's just been very, very involved since being
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: a fellow back in like twenty eighteen. And he just
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: sent me an email this morning reiterating how much the
• 27:02
  Speaker 2: Literacy Lab has meant to him and what he learned
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: about teaching and learning through being with us, and that
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: whether it's as an alumni board member, as a fundraiser,
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: in any way that he can support the organization. That
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: just kind of said like, I'm here, you know, kind of.
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: Put me in coach. I'm right.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: I love that.
• 27:21
  Speaker 3: Ever the organization, yeah, needs me to do.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: And he's lovely, I mean, and he just really represents
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: I mean, that's who our fellows are, that's who our
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: alumni are, and we're just incredibly lucky and grateful.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Well, that's really special, and I feedback is so big,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: especially what you do, because you know, always the proof
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: is in the pudd and you're doing all this hard work,
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: but when you get alumni and people that have gone
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: through the program paying it forward, it's absolutely extraordinary. So
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: I love to hear that. Well, let's do this. I
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: want to get some final thoughts from me. In the
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: last couple of minutes that we have. I'd like for
• 27:53
  Speaker 1: you to get the website and I know that a
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: lot of small, medium, and larger businesses listen to this program,
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: and so I mean they're really turn them on that
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: people are doing some incredible work and need some funding.
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: So I know that people can reach out to you
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: for that. But if you could give us some final
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: thoughts about our talk and recap everything that we chatted about, Heather,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: the floor is yours.
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, thank you so much.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: You know, again, our work is essential not just for education,
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: but for success in life. Folks are not able to
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: thrive to communicate without literacy skills. In addition to our students,
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: we have over one hundred and thirty million adults who
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: are not able to read beyond a fourth or fifth
• 28:35
  Speaker 2: grade level. And that just speaks volumes about the nature
• 28:40
  Speaker 2: and depth of this challenge. And we're working every day
• 28:43
  Speaker 2: to kind of close these gaps. And I'm just really
• 28:47
  Speaker 2: grateful that we're able to focus on the literacy portion
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: and focus on making sure that there are more and
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: more educators who have this literacy expertise to go into
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: classrooms and continue this amazing work. And our website is
• 29:04
  Speaker 2: www dot the Literacy Lab dot org. There's lots of
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: great information on our different program offerings and lots of
• 29:12
  Speaker 2: great information on ways to get involved. And like I said,
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: I am always available for anyone who is interested in
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: talking about any kind of partnership for their community outstanding hither.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I'm glad we found you. You're doing incredible work with
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: your team, and I know it's not a huge operation,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: but you're knocking out of the park and making a
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: difference out there. And I know the parents and educators
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: and everybody just thrilled over what you're doing for the
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: DC region. So that's just wonderful. Thank you so much,
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: and I'm glad we could spotlight you on Community DC
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: and let's visit again real soon.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much, and thank you to our communities.
• 29:49
  Speaker 3: Like Cleotions and Make Good World Better. Please learn more
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: at She Can STEMP. A message brought to you by
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: the AD Council.