Partner Spotlight: Chattanooga 2.0
November 21, 2024 – In partnership with Chattanooga 2.0, Hamilton County Schools is excited to announce the expansion of the Literacy First tutoring program, which started at East Side Elementary School during the 2023-24 school year. Thanks to the support of local sponsors, this successful program will now provide daily, one-on-one literacy tutoring to an estimated 500 kindergarten and first-grade students across twelve schools in the district.
“Literacy is the foundation for lifelong success, and Literacy First ensures our youngest learners receive the personalized support they need to thrive,” said Breckan Duckworth, Executive Director of Opportunity and Gap Closure. “By embedding one-on-one tutoring in select schools, we are empowering students to stay on grade level in their earliest years, minimizing learning gaps and setting them on a path to academic success. Research shows that students who are reading on grade level by third grade are more likely to excel throughout their education, and Literacy First is a critical investment in a student’s future.”
Literacy First focuses on helping students who are just below grade level in reading. Each tutor can work with 8-10 students a day. Students who meet grade-level expectations graduate from the program, allowing tutors to help additional students. On average, tutors can support 15-18 students a year. In just the first quarter of this school year, students have successfully completed the program allowing for new students to rotate in and receive tutoring.
As the cradle-to-career backbone for Hamilton County, Chattanooga 2.0 is working to build a robust and aligned system of literacy supports for children beginning from birth at home, in school, and across the community. Literacy First is a critical component to achieving that goal. Chattanooga 2.0 partnered with HCS to pilot Literacy First in the 2023-24 school year at East Side Elementary. The success of the pilot has expanded the partnership to now serve 12 schools in the 2024-25 school year.
In addition to Chattanooga 2.0’s work to help launch and expand Literacy First, generous support of other local partners, including the Benwood Foundation, MacLellan Foundation, Tucker Foundation, McKenzie Foundation, Lyndhurst Foundation, World Within Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga were integral to the program's success. This year, the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga (ULGC), United Way of Greater Chattanooga (UWGC), The Howard Fund, and The Grandview Foundation have also joined to support the initiative so more tutors were able to be hired, expanding the program to twelve schools.
HCS is excited about this expansion and hopes to highlight the importance of the ongoing support that keeps this program in schools.
Through shared community support, our children can become confident readers!
12 Participating Schools:
- Barger Elementary
- Bess T. Shepherd Elementary
- Calvin Donaldson Elementary
- Clifton Hills Elementary
- East Lake Elementary
- East Ridge Elementary
- East Side Elementary
- Hardy Elementary
- Harrison Elementary
- Orchard Knob Elementary
- Spring Creek Elementary
- Woodmore Elementary