Video: How community organizations, schools, and families can work together to support early childhood literacy

The Regional Educational Laboratory (REL Midwest) and Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW produced “a 19-minute documentary about how community organizations can incorporate literacy development into their work with children and how they can effectively partner with school districts to promote early childhood literacy.” The video features researcher Dr. Laura Justice from The Ohio State University’s Department of Educational Studies, among others.

In this documentary, researchers discuss the importance of building a child’s early literacy skills and how community organizations can support students’ literacy development. The program highlights effective partnerships between community organizations and school districts, including Open Books’ partnership with Chicago Public Schools and Rockford Public Library’s partnership with Rockford Public Schools. The documentary also highlights organizations that provide early literacy programming to their local communities, including Reach Out and Read and the Steans Family Foundation’s work in the North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.

REL Midwest also produced a documentary viewing guide that is available for download. The guide is a tool for community organizations and school districts to use when creating or refining partnerships to support the development of students’ early childhood literacy skills.”

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