$12M Gates Grant Supports Literacy Tools for Teachers

The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) is a New York City-based nonprofit that provides Common Core-aligned literacy tools for teachers.  Today, LDC launched CoreTools, a teacher-created online instructional platform to guide teachers through a curriculum design and professional development experience that enables them to master the instructional shifts of the Common Core.

LDC announced a $12 million grant from the Gates Foundation to support CoreTools and and teacher supports.

Suzanne Simons, formerly of the  American Reading Company,  is the LDC’s new Chief of Instruction & Design.

On January 30, SCALE and LDC will conduct national jurying training in Denver. This event provides a professional learning opportunity for experienced LDC teachers/coaches planning to become more involved in leading LDC’s work in schools, districts, and networks. (Contact [email protected] for more).

A group of partners will offer fee-based professional development on CoreTools.

For more, see the Education Week feature or 10 Sources of Inspiration for Next-Gen Learning Systems and the press release below.

–Press Release–

New Literacy Design Collaborative Organization

Literacy Design Collaborative Receives Three-Year Grant From the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Scale Work Nationwide

New York, NY – January 13, 2014 – The Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC), a new, independent nonprofit organization created with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been awarded a three-year, $12M grant by the Foundation to utilize the LDC framework and technology tools to help educators implement the Common Core State Standards in primary and secondary classrooms across the country. LDC is a national community of educators providing a teacher-designed and research-proven framework, online tools, and resources for creating literacy-rich assignments and courses across content areas.

LDC CoreTools, a teacher-created online instructional platform set to launch January 13, 2014, guides teachers through a curriculum design and professional development experience that enables them to master the instructional shifts of the Common Core. The LDC platform provides access to exemplary Common Core-aligned curriculum modules, a library of mini-literacy performance tasks, and a variety of online classroom resources.

Teacher research survey data has confirmed that students in LDC classrooms, enthusiastically engaged in their work, have improved their literacy skills. Moreover, teachers report, writing outcomes have improved. As eighth-grade science teacher Holly Particelli relayed: “These [LDC] tools have changed the way I teach. When you’re teaching for 21 years you get sort of set in what you want done…this approach has allowed me to raise expectations of students.”

Leveraging a network of literacy partners in over 40 states, LDC fosters sustainable growth of the LDC community of practice, framework, and technology tools through efficient and productive collaboration for educators. National partners include state education departments, national research institutions, national labor unions, teacher-practitioners, school and district leaders, and other national teacher training service providers.

About the Literacy Design Collaborative

The Literacy Design Collaborative is a national community of professional educators working together to prepare students for college and the 21st century workplace. LDC delivers proven, teacher-designed tools and resources to help students meet and exceed the demands of the Common Core State Standards. www.LDC.org

CONTACT: Jeannie Sharkey, [email protected]. 212-918-4637