Elon University
IN-1: Innovation 1

The It Takes a Village Project, also known as “The Village Project”, is an intentional collaborative literacy development endeavour among several stakeholders – Elon University, May Memorial Library, First Presbyterian Church, The Oak Foundation, parents, struggling students, teachers and Barnes and Noble (at Alamance Crossing). The project officially began in spring of 2008 and is unique for its 100% parent participation. The Village Project is designed to bring Elon University School of Education students in direct contact with students who find reading daunting. The aim of the project is to teach pre-service teachers and others who are interested, to work one-on-one with struggling readers, many of whom are poor and minority, and the readers’ parents. The purpose of the project is to diagnose and work to address the struggling student’s specific reading needs. The Village Project operates during the spring and fall semesters over 7 consecutive weeks for 4 hours each week. Since 2008, the Village Project has supported over 300 families and recently expanded to address content area reading needs by establishing Science in the Village and Music in the Village. Village research has indicated that when provided with specific support such as, university-based partnerships, one-on-one tutoring, community support, underlying reasons for their children’s reading struggles and ways for mitigating those struggles, parents of struggling readers respond positively and work diligently to help their children improve their reading skills. Struggling readers often do not enjoy tutoring projects because they focus on their major area of weakness, reading. So, it is not surprising that struggling students often feel they do not belong in schools or tutoring programs. However, the Village Project with its emphasis on diagnosing students’ specific reading needs, with one-on-one instruction to address those needs, and parental support in a non-threatening setting has resulted in positive reading motivation results among “Village Readers.” The Village Project has received funding from an international philanthropic organization, The Oak Foundation, facilitating the replication of the Village Project at other schools – the University of North Carolina Greensboro and Concordia University. Recent funding from The Oak Foundation will facilitate additional village sites nationally and internationally.