Advancing Literacy and Building the Educator Workforce with The Literacy Lab

Dorothy Jones, PSS (DJ): Tell us about your program and how it aligns with the mission of the Partnership for Student Success to expand evidence-based and people-powered student supports?

Heather Jenkins, The Literacy Lab (HJ): At The Literacy Lab, we believe that literacy is a human right and a pathway to liberation for all people. We have an innovative and highly successful dual-impact model. Every school day school is in session, we work directly with students to provide them with access to high-quality, evidence-based literacy instruction.

This year, we do this through a Fellowship Model that recruits, attracts, and retains emerging educators from the communities we serve. Fellows provide literacy instruction for our students and participate in our workforce development programming. We offer coaching based on where Fellows are starting, moving them toward becoming education professionals. For some, that is classroom teaching; for others, paraprofessional roles or nonprofit work.

We are excited about our dual model because we are supporting the growth and development of our youngest learners while also providing workforce development for individuals right out of high school, those with some college experience, or career changers looking to do something different at a certain point in their lives.

As we all know, there is a national literacy crisis that we are working to address, along with significant teacher shortages. Through this work, we are closely aligned with the Partnership for Student Success, providing instructional support for students and creating a community of practice for emerging educators. 

We operate at the intersection of evidence-based content and a strong focus on the practice of teaching and learning. That is part of why the Partnership for Student Success has been such a great fit for us—connecting us with like-minded organizations, professional development, and resources, while also giving us a place to give back.

DJ: Can you share a story that captures your program’s impact on a student or community?

HJ: One thing I would highlight is the longitudinal impact of our Fellows. Every year, Fellows work closely with students, and we hear powerful stories. For example, some students begin the year with extremely low literacy skills—unable to write any letters or have very limited verbal communication. In some cases, Fellows spend months simply building relationships before that child becomes verbal.

By the end of the year, that same student often has a significantly expanded vocabulary and can write their name. That kind of progress within one year is monumental. We hear stories like this every year. A child being able to communicate who they are—through writing their name or talking about what they enjoy—is incredibly meaningful.

We also see long-term impact through our Fellows. The majority go on to pursue careers in education, including classroom teaching, paraprofessional roles, and nonprofit education work. For example, a Fellow from our 2018 cohort was hired by the school where he served after completing his Fellowship. He later became a classroom teacher and now hosts Fellows in his classroom.  He has also served on our board of directors and our alumni board, and supports our strategic planning work, helping shape the future of our Fellowship and workforce pathways. 

Every time we hear about what one of our Fellows is doing—whether in a classroom or in an education nonprofit—we get excited to see how these impacts ripple over time.

DJ: How has being part of the Partnership for Student Success Coalition supported your organization?

HJ: In so many ways. Being part of the coalition has been energizing and catalytic for our work. Through the Community Collaboration Challenge, we’ve been able to invest in innovation—specifically piloting and documenting educator pathways that build on our Fellowship model.

Beyond funding, the greatest value has been learning in community. We engage with organizations tackling similar challenges in workforce development and student support. This thought partnership helps us refine our strategy and think more deeply about sustainability—something every nonprofit is focused on right now.

We’ve also benefited from resources such as the District Partnership Toolkit, the Planning Toolkit for Collaborative Goal Setting Events, and a particularly thought-provoking webinar on out-of-school time programs as a bridge between school, home, and community. That was especially timely as we considered requests from school partners to offer out-of-school programming.

The coalition has also created space for us to give back. As part of our grant, we are developing a publicly available one-page brief adapted from our internal Fellowship pathways work. This resource will translate our process-level learnings into a concise and accessible format, highlighting how we design pathways, align professional learning and credentialing, and engage regional partners.

It will also emphasize how flexible workforce development approaches can meet participants where they are, which is a core value for us. The balance between learning and contributing has made the coalition a meaningful, growth-oriented experience.

DJ: What advice would you offer organizations looking to strengthen or expand people-powered, evidence-based supports?

Get involved in a coalition—especially one aligned with your work. No organization, even large national ones, can do this alone anymore. The challenges we face are deeply entrenched and multi-generational, and progress requires collective action and shared knowledge.

We hold a value that says, “Together we know a whole lot, and no one has to know everything.” That philosophy is embodied in this coalition. Trying to build coalitions independently is extremely difficult, especially for leaders already managing countless responsibilities. This is where something like the Partnership for Student Success truly matters.

I encourage organizations to get involved. Our participation has helped shape our strategic planning, and there is much more growth ahead. Working with like-minded partners ultimately benefits our communities and society as a whole.

Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.