About the Literacy Trust Inc.

The Literacy Trust Inc. is a charitable, non-profit organization that was established in 1998. The Literacy Trust primarily operates Reading Rescue™, a staff development and intensive literacy intervention program that targets primary grade students who are below grade level. The program currently operates in over 60 schools throughout New York City in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. The program is separately offered through Columbia's Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

The Literacy Trust Inc. is currently at a pivotal time in our history as we move towards strategic expansion in efforts to continue our work preparing school staff to provide the highly skilled, one-on-one tutoring some children need to develop fluent reading in the early grades.

About Reading Rescue™

Reading Rescue™ provides schools with professional training that prepares staff members to accelerate literacy among the lowest performing students in grades 1-3. Our training provides school staff members with a clinical experience in reading. As a result, all children benefit from improved classroom instruction. The combination of training, plus daily program implementation, significantly enhances pedagogical knowledge and skills. Our services include 12 full days of professional development delivered over 2 years. The program package also includes regular site visits, tutor observations, ongoing coaching and year round program support.

Program Coordinators and tutors are selected by each school site among existing staff members. They collaborate with school staff to assess and select student participants. Trained tutors work with individual students one on one for 30 minutes per day. Program Coordinators and tutors work closely with Reading Rescue™ staff members.

Daily sessions provide a balanced literacy block including; fluency building, daily assessments, phonological awareness and word study, sentence writing, and vocabulary development. Program components are targeted at individual student needs. Tutors use daily assessments to inform daily instruction within a sequential framework. Components are also multisensory, incorporating visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile teaching methods.

Students typically receive tutoring for one semester. Our research shows the number of sessions a student needs to reach grade level ranges from 41-55. Such outcomes have been documented in some of the nation's most challenged inner city schools serving predominantly bilingual students; results from high-poverty rural schools are equally impressive.