In the wake of a dyslexia diagnosis, western Illinois parent Julie Schuetz noticed how struggling to learn to read was impacting her son. Seeing him come home from school every day distraught over reading exercises that simply didn’t meet his needs, Julie wasn’t sure where to turn until a friend told her about the impact of literacy strategies based on the science of reading. 

Taking matters into her own hands, Julie homeschooled her son during the COVID-19 pandemic. While she saw improvements in his reading abilities, the Structured Literacy programs she relied on weren’t straightforward, making it difficult to fully implement them for her son. Then Julie discovered  IMSE. 

“Once I did the IMSE training, I felt like it was the most comprehensive approach,” Julie said. “I had already done a lot of background research and I could see that IMSE was built on everything I had been reading. The IMSE approach gave me the best roadmap and instructions on how to work with my son.”

Based on the literacy results Julie’s son demonstrated after applying IMSE’s approaches, she felt motivated to spread the word to other parents and schools in her community. Julie formed the Literacy Advocates of West Central Illinois, a Quincy, Illinois-based group working to promote awareness of evidence-based literacy instruction among parents, teachers, and school administrators across the region to help children reach their maximum potential. What followed was a literacy transformation that demonstrates that meaningful change can come not only from school leaders, but also from parents who want to uplift all of their students, schools, and community. 

Fundraising to Make Training Possible

One of the organization’s many advocacy efforts was to introduce the IMSE approach and its science-based strategies to all of the educators in the area including St. Francis Solanus Catholic School. The school had previously been using balanced literacy as its primary approach, which has not been proven to be effective for all students — especially those with dyslexia. St. Francis’ teachers were not all using the same methods, making it difficult for students to build strong literary foundations. 

After a year of learning loss from students not physically being in class during the pandemic, the school was ready for a curriculum change that would boost both teacher and student morale. However, the school lacked the necessary funding to enroll its teachers in IMSE’s literacy training.

Through conversations with peers and nonprofits, both in person and through social media channels, Julie worked with the Regional Office of Education to connect St. Francis and other interested educators with grants from community foundations and contributions from individual donors who wanted to contribute to improving literacy rates in their region.

Case in Point: Real-Time Results with IMSE

After implementing IMSE, St. Francis teachers saw immediate results from their students. 83% of students met or exceeded the projected growth for the end of the year for reading. St. Francis’s literacy journey demonstrates that parents and advocates like Julie can help drive better literacy outcomes for all students in their local school districts and communities. 

“Literacy Advocates of West Central Illinois have been, and continue to be, a driving force in bringing big changes to literacy education in our community,” said Jamie Marshall, an elementary teacher at St. Francis. “Big changes are often slow and require time and money. This group has given their own time to help overwhelmed educators handle the issues of opening communication and securing funds. They have helped a growing group of us gain a voice as we continue our own professional development and spread the word to parents, administrators, students, and community members on best literacy practices for all of our learners.” 

To learn more about the work of Literacy Advocates of West Central Illinois, follow their Facebook page here. To find out more about the St. Francis literacy transformation, read the blog article. 

To discover how other districts have successfully transformed their curriculum to achieve better literacy results, schedule a district training session with us today. Visit: https://imse.com/private-district-trainings/

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