Pilot Literacy Program Announced

(Press Release) West Palm Beach, FL (March 13, 2024) – The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties today announced a pilot literacy program at four nonprofit organizations in Palm Beach and Martin Counties. UFLI Foundations: An Explicit and Systematic Phonics Program is a curriculum designed by Dr. Holly Lane, the director of the University of Florida’s Literacy Institute (UFLI), to help teachers with students who need to improve their reading skills to achieve grade-level status.

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The Community Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that leads partnerships with donors, nonprofits and community members to solve the region’s chronic and emerging issues, is convening the pilot program to bring UFLI to Palm Beach and Martin Counties. The participating nonprofits, all of which already do outstanding work with young students, will pilot UFLI Foundations to help address the reading deficit that is further exacerbated during the summer months. The four nonprofits are:
 

• Banner Lake Club in Hobe Sound
• Fuller Center in Boca Raton
• Achievement Center for Children & Families in Delray Beach
• Edna W. Runner Tutorial Center in Jupiter

 
“Children’s literacy continues to be a fundamental challenge that is pervasive in our communities,” said Jeffrey A. Stoops, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. “In 2023, more than half of Palm Beach and Martin County students did not pass their third grade reading assessments. Third grade is a turning point, with studies showing that children who can’t read on grade level by the end of third grade are four times more likely to not graduate high school.”
 
Implementing the UFLI Foundations curriculum has already garnered outstanding results in school districts, state-wide education systems and countries across the globe. In the Alachua County school district specifically, the percentage of children reading on grade level by the end of second grade has moved from 30 to 80 percent following the introduction of the UFLI program.
 
“Dr. Lane has developed a proven, evidence-based phonics curriculum to help teachers more effectively teach reading,” added Danita R. DeHaney, President & CEO of the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties. “We are excited to introduce the UFLI Foundations curriculum to four outstanding nonprofits right here in South Florida that we have known and worked closely with for years. We are confident the UFLI program will only strengthen their already fantastic work.”
 
The UFLI pilot program is made possible by a lead donor, the Lawrence A. Sanders Foundation. The Foundation has committed $100,000 to support the UFLI Foundations pilot program through the Community Foundation’s Early Literacy Fund. Beginning in 2024, the Early Literacy Fund will be incorporated into the Community Foundation’s annual competitive “Community Impact” grantmaking cycle. Competitive grants are a hallmark of the Community Foundation and are a lifeline for those nonprofit partners that are tackling the area’s greatest needs at the grassroots level. Through the grantmaking cycle, donors directly support over 100 community-focused organizations each year.
 
For more information or to donate to the Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties, please visit https://yourcommunityfoundation.org/give-now/. For more information on the Early Literacy Fund, please visit https://yourcommunityfoundation.org/funds/early-literacy-fund/.