The Literacy Lab is a mobile literacy outreach program aimed at providing books for children and families in underserved communities and presenting engaging literacy programs to get children excited about reading.
Interested in where we are and what we’re thinking about? Check out our twitter account and follow our blog!
What We Do:
- Take the Literacy Lab on the road to provide fun, engaging story programs that incorporate literacy best practices using drama, puppets, rhymes, fingerplays, music, and props
- Give books to children in low-income communities
- Instill values of community service in youth and adults by encouraging individuals and community groups to host book drives and volunteer their time to catalog and sort books
Our Journey So Far:
- Summer 2011: The pilot program of the Literacy Lab began. On May 27th, 2011, Cora started the drive of the Literacy Lab from Winter Park, FL to Seattle, WA. Stops along the way include Summit, NJ and Minneapolis, MN. During the summer, the Literacy Lab stayed in Seattle, WA.
- Fall 2011: The Literacy Lab Cross-Country Adventure continued when Cora and Erin drove back to Winter Park, FL.
- Summer 2012: The inaugural trip of the Little Lit Lab began in Winter Park, FL, en route to Seattle, WA. Meanwhile, the Literacy Lab continued to put on programs locally around Orlando, FL during the school year and on the road during the summer! For those interested in getting involved, check out how to help. For those interested in getting books donated to your school, community, or organization, invite the literacy lab over!
- Summer 2013: The Literacy Lab embarked on another cross-country adventure, this time driving to Minneapolis, MN in July where students from CTV North Suburbs created an informative video about the project.
- Fall 2013: The Literacy Lab began it’s journey back from Minneapolis to Winter Park, with stops planned in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina!
The Literacy Lab is the dreamchild of Cora Sterling and her daughter, Erin. Both have a passion for best practices in literacy and how to develop a culture of readers. When they learned that research demonstrated a link between having books in the home, reading for pleasure, and academic success, they decided they were onto something promising and created Literacy Laboratory, a mobile literacy outreach program that delivers books and story programs to students.
Cora Sterling has over 20 years of experience teaching. She holds a MA in English as a Second Language from Georgetown University and has taught everything from elementary school Spanish to English for adult learners. She loves languages and has an advanced conversational ability in German, Japanese, and Spanish. In her many years of volunteer experience, she has led Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops, developed Sunday School curriculum, and tutored and mentored elementary and middle school students. She has a passion for creativity in education and incorporates props, costumes, music, acting, and games in her work with youth.
Erin Sterling is an educator and librarian. Since graduating from Carleton College in 2005, she has worked for a college’s center for community service and civic engagement; lived in Nicaragua tutoring students in reading and writing and starting a community-owned library; taught Spanish in elementary school; received her Master’s in Library and Information Science; and is currently completing a master’s in teaching program / graduate teaching certificate in Washington State. She has a passion for the ways literacy, new technologies, and media can complement each other to strengthen students’ learning. See her resume of qualifications here.
Great website!
Wonderful idea and implementation! Best of luck!
Awesome ambition!
Congratulations and good wishes to Cora and Erin on a very worthy project!
Great idea – looks like fun – how is it going? Should I start collecting books for you?
That would be awesome! We probably would even be able to swing by sometime, perhaps in the fall!
Wow! So great to see the book mobile dream come true. Congratulations and safe travels. Looking forward to the book mobile in Summit, N.J.
Cora and Erin — this is wonderful! I look forward to learning more. Thanks for a great website.
What a great project! The boys at Christ Child House gratefully received books and “reading buddies.” Thank you for your vision and passion in this arena!
Sorry I couldn’t make the opening of this truck, please let me know how I can help in any ways in NYC! This is SO SO SO exciting. Will you be making guest appearances in at schools?
Yes we will! We will be making a trip back from Seattle to Florida in the fall, which will be our real chance to connect!
Will you be in Detroit anytime soon?!? I teach at a school where free books for our students would be GREATLY appreciated!! 🙂
Yes, we will! We’ll be in Detroit the night of October 7th through the morning of October 10th. 🙂
Cora and Erin, what an awesome project! I have forwarded your information to a friend who teaches in the Yorkville, IL schools.
Donna
I saw your van parked in centennial co. And looked up your website. Cool project. Do you takenbook donations?
We do! Unfortunately, we are on a cross-country road trip and are already at Lincoln, NE so we can’t pick-up any books. (You can mail media boxes, but it might not be worth it since there are probably other great Colorado organizations to donate to)