William & Mary Literacy Lab
Providing support for readers
Despite considerable resources and reform efforts, the American public school system is failing to help a sizeable portion of children in reading. Recent data suggest that one-third of fourth graders still read below a basic level of proficiency. The W&M Literacy Lab is an interdisciplinary initiative that aims to address these issues by providing tutoring, advocacy and educational opportunities for teachers.
Our Goals
Our goals are three-fold:
- Capitalize on both in-house expertise among faculty members and the service-oriented population of W&M students to provide K-12 students and their families in our local community with educational supports and services
- Leverage our partnerships and interdisciplinary strengths to offer conferences and courses on best practices
- Engage interested students and faculty in interdisciplinary research on the topic
Our Work
We provide local K-12 students with explicit, systematic and multi sensory tutoring to support their reading needs. We are developing opportunities for K-12 teachers to gain skills and knowledge in supporting students struggling with reading.
Our Team
Kristin Conradi Smith
Dr. Virginia L. McLaughlin Associate Professor of Education, Coordinator of Elementary Education Program
School of Education
Debbie Ramer
Clinical Faculty and Coordinator of the Special Education Program
School of Education
