Projects

CLI affects systemic change that is visible at the classroom, school, district, state, and federal levels.

Students Served

Classrooms Served

Educators Served

Schools Served

Our work has been validated by prestigious independent organizations and has garnered national attention for its ability to raise student academic scores while building schools’ internal capacities for teacher professional development.

RFA's Evaluation of Blueprint for Early Literacy

American Institute for Research Results from a Three-Year i3 Impact Evaluation

Currently, we serve more than 3,200 educators and 60,000 Pre-K through 6th grade students across the country – with projects in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia – and continue to strive to expand our reach.

Learn more about CLI’s project work below.

Broward County Public Schools

2020 – 2023

CLI provided intensive coaching, training, and other support to Broward County Public School educators and independent community childcare providers over two years.

Accomplished with the implementation of the Education, Innovation, and Research (EIR) grant, CLI sought to improve the quality of EEPs by supporting teachers in implementing a comprehensive curriculum, providing professional development training and job-embedded professional learning opportunities for educators, engaging in continuous quality improvement, and providing caregiver engagement support and training.

Key results of CLI’s assistance in Broward County include children meeting or exceeding expectations on Florida’s statewide, standardized assessments.

Learn how CLI's expertise transformed Broward County education.

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Chicago Public Schools

2005 – 2023

CLI began working in Chicago Public Schools in 2005 with the support of a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation grant.

Over the past 18 years, CLI has built a successful partnership with Chicago Public Schools by helping to accelerate learning for students who were performing below grade level in reading and providing integrated professional development to teachers and supplemental reading instruction through one-on-one sessions with students who needed additional support.

CLI’s culturally sustaining reading intervention showed remarkable results, including virtual reading growth of more than a year and a half for 2nd and 3rd-grade students in North Lawndale and steady progress toward reading proficiency during in-person instruction.

Des Plaines Community Consolidated School District 62

2023 – Present

CLI is in its first year of partnership with Des Plaines, supporting all nine elementary schools in the adoption of a research-based foundational skills curriculum.

Our main levers for implementing this work include monthly professional development for school leaders designed to build their content knowledge around the Science of Reading, instructional strategies for teaching literacy to multilingual learners, and our Framework for Teaching and Learning©. We then enact learning walks and strategic planning meetings to help school leaders understand how to apply what they have learned from these sessions.

Based on initial survey responses from Des Plaines principals and leaders, the partnership has had a positive impact so far, with glowing responses from respondents who overwhelmingly state that trainings and support visits have been valuable uses of time, were well organized, well facilitated, and engaging, and will have a lasting impact on their practice and their students’ learnings.

Learn how CLI can help your school or district succeed.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the MA Department of Early Education and Care

2020 – Present

Through the Massachusetts Early Childhood Support Organization (ECSO) initiative, CLI provided coaching and training to 1,689 educators and 424 leaders to support them in their provision of high- quality instruction that promotes positive outcomes for young children.

The ECSO initiative seeks to improve the quality of early education providers by supporting leaders in strengthening their organizational climate, providing job-embedded professional learning opportunities for educators, supporting the use of instructional curriculum and child assessments in their program, and engaging in continuous quality improvement.

CLI's collaboration with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts significantly improved various areas. Scores on the Classroom Assessment Scoring System® (CLASS) for toddler and pre-k classrooms notably increased. EEP leaders reported enhanced confidence in their leadership and program management skills, increased classroom observations, and a greater tendency to provide on-site educator training for improved instructional practice.

Connect with us today to learn how we support educators and students in Massachusetts.

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Omaha Public School District

2019 – Present

Since 2019, the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI) has partnered with Omaha Public Schools in a transformative initiative. Our focus in the first two years was on foundational skills, particularly the Science of Reading, as part of a district-wide curriculum adoption effort.

Throughout four years, CLI has provided ongoing professional development, tailored training, and continuous coaching to school leaders, literacy coaches, and teachers across the district. Our goal is to strengthen their capacity in effective literacy implementation, ensuring a unified approach to literacy advancement.

Our impact in Omaha is evident: 80% of surveyed leaders agreed that CLI's support improved their coaching practices; all leaders reported increased content knowledge in literacy instruction and instructional leadership; and all leaders acknowledged enhanced knowledge in effective coaching and adult learning facilitation through our collaboration.

Discover how CLI's professional development has transformed Omaha public schools.

Transform your schools for academic excellence. Contact us today!

Elizabeth Public Schools

2016 – Present

CLI has a strong partnership with Elizabeth, serving a large number of teachers, leaders, and children. Currently, CLI supports all 26 district schools, including bilingual, special education, and general education classrooms. Our services include job-embedded coaching, professional development seminars, coaching for principals, collaboration with district literacy coaches, and bilingual education support.

In particular, CLI has assisted all schools involved in a Transitional Bilingual Program, benefiting over 50 bilingual teachers, 20 administrators and district staff, and more than 1000 children. Our strategic projects aim to enhance teaching and learning experiences across the district.

New Jersey Department of Education

2023 – Present

CLI has recently started a partnership with the New Jersey Department of Education. Our program and marketing teams collaborated to develop and deliver 8 training modules to administrators and teachers in districts across three counties in the state. About 30 administrators from various counties attended the optional training sessions.

Initial survey results from the Leader Training Webinar show that all attendees found the training well-organized and engaging, meeting its objectives, facilitated effectively, and applicable to their roles. They also felt prepared to implement what they had learned into their practice, recognizing the benefits for students.

Newark Public Schools

1997 – 2020

Since 1997 and through 2020, CLI has maintained a strong partnership with Newark Public Schools, the Department of Early Learning, and the Office of the Superintendent.

Our focus has been on supporting leaders in enhancing instructional leadership. Together, we developed a shared vision for literacy instruction and implemented professional development and support, building on our previous Model Teacher partnership and leveraging the leadership of Newark Superintendent Roger León.

As a result, all elementary schools, including general education and bilingual classrooms, experienced pos-itive impacts. School principals expressed high levels of satisfaction, and feedback on our professional de-velopment, coaching, and support was overwhelmingly positive, with satisfaction rates ranging from 76% to 89%.

Passaic Public Schools

2015 – 2023

For the past eight years, CLI has been a trusted partner of Passaic Public Schools. Our team of up to 12 literacy instructional leaders supported all bilingual and general education literacy educators in grades K-5 across 15 elementary schools. This support greatly improved the teaching and learning experiences for over 250 teachers, including 22 administrators, and more than 5,700 children.

We implemented several strategic initiatives, including one-on-one coaching for educators covering all aspects of literacy instruction, the introduction of a dual language program, synchronous and asynchronous professional development seminars, collaboration with district stakeholders, and professional development and coaching in special education classrooms. These efforts established a strong and effective relationship with Passaic.

Key outcomes included providing Passaic children with access to high-quality, grade-level-appropriate materials, developing and implementing a virtual literacy curriculum in both English and Spanish and increasing the percentage of students achieving proficiency on state literacy assessments.

See how we build better New Jersey schools through research-based early literacy practices.

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DREXEL-Action for Early Learning North Philadelphia Pre-K

2016 – Present

CLI provides intensive coaching, training, and other support to educators and leaders in a collaborative project that provides curriculum, early literacy professional development, and job-embedded coaching support to ensure high-quality instruction that promotes positive outcomes for young children.

Based on survey responses of the DREXEL project, one hundred percent of educators and leaders agree that the training will positively impact their planning and instruction, and eighty percent strongly agree that they feel prepared to implement what they learned in each training in their classrooms.

School District of Philadelphia

2015 – 2022

CLI provided School District of Philadelphia teachers and coaches in 120 schools across 10 districts with professional development on foundational skills, employing up to 120 full-time early literacy specialists and 15 part-time contracted professional developers throughout the project.

Our coaches supported teachers with understanding the systematic, explicit, and direct phonics program and assisted with using student data to plan and implement effective lessons. Key results included School District of Philadelphia students performing at or above reading benchmarks, according to Star Early Literacy assessment results.

Temple University

2017 – 2023

CLI partnered with Temple University School L.I.F.E. Project (Leadership, Instruction, and Family Engagement) to help improve the experiences and outcomes of English Learners in several Philadelphia School District elementary schools.

A significant aspect of CLI’s partnership with Temple was the promotion of bilingualism and biliteracy through a family literacy program. CLI trained school district personnel in best literacy practices to enhance their love of literacy and engagement in home settings.

See how we elevate Pennsylvania educators' instructional skills with CLI's empowering resources and training.

CLI is normalizing anti-racist pedagogy at the source.

Building on successful scaling of teacher professional development initiatives, CLI helps networks of school communities and teacher training agencies create and implement durable, culturally sustaining, early literacy practice in the classroom.

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Our focus on research-based early literacy practices like the Science of Reading help educators become outstanding instructors, leading to improved reading proficiency at or above grade level.

Connect with us and start to your journey towards empowering children and transforming classrooms for academic excellence.