LEARNABC Club Interactive Literacy Program
A child-centric digital interactive literacy pilot program working with schools with low literacy scores to provide supplemental instruction to fill in the gaps so all children can learn to read and write in a fun way. The program includes many games and interactive choose your own adventure stories that teach 23 essential literacy skills. The stories also include global cultural representation to build early positive associations with all peoples in an effort to increase tolerance.
Please list the organizations collaborating on this proposal.
LA Public School System
Briefly tell us a story that demonstrates how your organization turns inspiration into impact.
Our organization was created by some of the founding members of Learning through an Expanded Arts, Inc. (LEAP)'s Active Learning Leads to Literacy program (ALLL). ALLL was in a longitudinal and quantitative study, conducted by independent NYU evaluators and showed that students receiving the ALLL program outperformed their peers on 87% of the 23 essential literacy skills tested.
From the time spent working with at-risk students and seeing the gaps in curriculum, differentiated instruction and accommodating for diverse learning styles, we saw the need for a digital program that provides additional support, so with schools we can help overcome these obstacles and provide students with the best possible chance to succeed. In doing research we found that the US literacy rate is at 86%. We need to be at 100%- everyone deserves to be able to read and write. Learning to read and write well can open entire new worlds and opportunities for a child economically and socially. Not only can this impact students on an individual level, but it also can drive the overall progress of the LA community in its growth and abilities to create new sustainable initiatives for generations to come.
Which of the LEARN metrics will your submission impact?
District-wide graduation rates
Proficiency in English and Language Arts and Math
Truancy rates in elementary and middle schools
In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?
County of Los Angeles
City of Los Angeles
How will your project make LA the best place to LEARN?
We will work with 20 of the lowest performing schools in the LA area to provide digital interactive literacy programs of games, songs, and interactive stories to increase literacy proficiency for students. Many times teachers are stretched very thin and despite their highest efforts cannot work with each student at their learning level in their learning style. The ABC Club strives to close that gap so students have a fun, interactive program that incorporates diverse learning styles and allows for students to work at their own level so the students who master the activities quickly can move forward and continue to learn and so the students who need greater support can spend more time with additional games that drive the specific skills so they aren't left in the cracks. The program also includes interactive stories that travel around the globe so students are given a sense of adventure and autonomy while providing early positive associations with different cultures to increase a sense of tolerance and celebration of diversity.
We would implement the program with the LA schools beginning in the 2019/2020 academic year. The program would last the entire academic year and we would use the ECLAS and State tests which are independently administered to determine overall student and program proficiency. Additionally we track student progress internally and work with teachers to target specific areas students can benefit from additional support.
Through our platform we seek to provide the students of LA with additional support where they need it in a fun and culturally connected way.
In what stage of innovation is this project?
Pilot project (testing a new idea on a small scale to prove feasibility)
Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.
We will conduct ongoing internal studies of our program internally to assess what is driving the best outcomes for students. We will also utilize State tests upon entry and exit to determine increases in learner proficiencies on 23 essential literacy skills.