Thrive Lonsdale

Many of the at-risk children in our schools lag behind others in literacy, partly because their families are unable to provide vital support. The Imagination Library is an amazing resource, but it does not help a parent who cannot read.
We will increase the size, frequency, and scope of our testing in order to focus on program-wide literacy gains through the over 700 hours a year of programming we provide. We will also add adjunct literacy interventions with incentives we think will dramatically increase the participation on the part of the students.

We are requesting funding to investigate what tests and programs will be most effective, to recruit an employee who is focused on this type of intervention, and to purchase test material.
The audience will be 4 years old in Sam E. Hill starting in August, and 5-18 years old at our program sites in Lonsdale and East Knoxville. An added benefit with our testing and learning software could be assisting adult literacy and ongoing work we are doing with parents, but that will not be the primary goal.

Through testing, we will measure the reading level and comprehension level of our program students before and after our summer literacy program and during the school year.
We will seek to create and expand partnerships with UT, Knox County Schools, and Emerald Youth Foundation.
We will maintain the new position and the testing by fundraising using the results of the initiative.