Dear friends and colleagues,  

 

As of September 1st, I have joined forces with Stand for Children, a leading organization in the fight for education equity and racial justice, to launch, with generous private donations, the Center for Early Literacy Success.  

 

Building on Stand’s highly impactful Center for High School Success, the Center for Early Literacy Success will provide organizational, instructional, and curricular support directly to public schools and early childhood settings from infants through second grade. It will additionally provide technical support to state departments of education, policymakers, and other education influencers to remove barriers and increase support, enabling more public schools to achieve high rates of early literacy success. 

 

I bring what I’ve learned about early literacy development and the implementation of systems of educational improvement and equity to Stand for Children’s 26-year history of leading measurable impact in partnership with families, communities, and educators. Together we are launching the Center to substantially improve early literacy education across the country.  

 

I am serving as Executive Director of the Center at Stand for Children, while also maintaining a 20% appointment continuing research and curriculum development work at the University of Michigan School of Education. The Center will formally launch its work with schools in the Summer of 2023.  

 

To remain informed on our efforts to support early childhood literacy, please stay in touch here. 

 

Thank you so much for your continued support.  

 

Nell Duke