The United States is facing a literacy crisis, and Kansas City, Missouri, is no exception. In Kansas City, 77% of third graders aren’t proficient in English language arts as measured by the Missouri MAP standardized test, and at least 290,000 adults struggle with basic literacy skills. Literacy for All Students (LFAS) — a citywide initiative led by nonprofit School Smart Kansas City — aims to tackle the complicated problem through a coordinated and sustained approach.

Join us for a discussion about how collaborative, community-led efforts can create change — and what it takes to get them off the ground. We’ll discuss how SchoolSmartKC took the LFAS initiative from design to implementation, what it looked like to collaborate with varied stakeholders across the city, and lessons learned for other cities considering evidence-based, locally driven approaches to literacy improvement.

Featuring:

• • Tricia DeGraff, PhD – Executive Director, Academy for Integrated Arts
  • LaTanya Franklin, EdD – Chief Academic Officer, Kansas City Public Schools
  • Daniela Torre Gibney, PhD – Senior Associate Partner, Bellwether
  • Robin E. Henderson, PhD – Chief Program Officer, SchoolSmartKC