Faculty member:  Turquessa Francis

Project name: Engaging Families in Literacy for Better Outcomes

Project goals: Engaging Families in Literacy for Better Community Outcomes will implement a structured and engaging family literacy program for children and their families in Erie County with a goal to develop the literacy skills of all participating family members to ensure success for parents, caregivers, and children in their community. The project will include using a reading tracking app to ensure families are reading daily, provision of a gift card to a local bookstore to foster a sense of community around books, implementation of a holistic literacy skills program to address reading proficiency of children, and development of literacy skills of caregivers that are part of the program, focusing on health literacy, digital literacy, financial literacy, and functional literacy. We expect this program will improve the value of reading to participating families with subsequent improvement in children’s reading proficiency due to consistent engagement in reading. 

Duration of research experience: Summer

Time commitment: 10-20 hours per week

Will this be in person or remote: Hybrid