Mobilizing Literacy programs across Lyon County and two other area counties will continue after action by the WS and EC Jones Testamentary Trust.
The Jones Trust has committed $2.5 million to the program, which extends the life of the grant another five years. The grant is coordinated by Emporia State University’s Kansas Masonic Literacy Center and will expand work already underway to improve “grade-level reading attainment” for all 11 participating school districts in Lyon, Coffey and Osage counties. Besides maintaining past initiatives, there will be additional Parents as Teachers programming with an increased emphasis on family engagement, augmenting daycare options and lowering the teacher-student ratio at pre-kindergarten levels. New to the program will be one-to-one tutoring serves as offered by Emporia State education students.
The initial $2 million grant was announced in 2016. The initial goals were school readiness, summer and extended learning and school attendance.
The announcement of the new grant total comes with USD 253 Emporia in the process of finding a new Mobilizing Literacy family liaison. Jodi Case, who served in that role since the program was announced, retired earlier this year.
