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Press Release:

MSU Denver Literacy Research Center and Clinic Announces Its Official Launch with a Community Engagement Initiative

On September 3, 2024, the Literacy Research Center and Clinic in the School of Education received approval as a university-recognized center by President Janine Davidson.

The Literacy Research Center and Clinic will conduct basic and applied statewide and district-wide research with a focus on improving the reading achievement of elementary and high school students in Colorado. Research from the Center will be used to provide clinical services; to provide technical reports with timely data and research findings to legislators, school districts, and communities; and to provide professional development workshops for teachers and administrators.

The Center will apply the intellectual strength of MSU Denver faculty and faculty from other universities in Colorado to solve real-world problems with the goal to benefit the economic, educational, health and overall well-being of the community and promote the public good. Elizabeth Hinde, dean of the School of Education, shared, “this new center aligns with our goal to offer practical and research solutions to improve educational outcomes and shape a better Colorado through the excellent work of our faculty and staff.”

According to the Center’s Executive Director, Alfred Tatum, “the Literacy Research Center and Clinic will fill a research and service gap in Colorado. A review of centers and institutes in Colorado indicates that the planned mission and focus of the Center do not exist. The focus of literacy research and clinical services for clients across the lifespan is noticeably absent.” The grand challenge for the Literacy Research Center and Clinic and the state of Colorado is improving literacy outcomes across Colorado’s 178 school districts.

Launch of Clinical Services within the Community

The Literacy Research Center and Clinic will launch its clinical services in February 2025 by offering free diagnostic reading screenings during Black History Month at Paris Elementary School located at 1635 Paris Street in Aurora, Colorado. Working in collaboration with the ABC Collective, MSU Denver researchers will provide clinical outreach services to identify children and adults with reading difficulties. Daniel Sampson, Founder and CEO of DBOA, welcomes this initiative as one step to further support families and communities to elevate literacy and positive life outcome trajectories in Colorado.

Beginning March 2025, diagnostic reading screenings will be offered on the Auraria Campus. For more details about the Literacy Research Center and Clinic or to sign up for a diagnostic reading screening, please contact us at [email protected] or visit www.msudenver.edu/lrcc.

About the Literacy Research Center and Clinic

Photograph of Idalee Nunez reading a book to a group of young children in a classroom. The MSU Denver Literacy Research Center and Clinic investigates all aspects of reading and literacy-related skills across the lifespan to respond to the pressing problems of practice, policy, and research in Colorado.

The Literacy Research Center and Clinic also provides diagnostic reading screenings for children and adults to identify reading difficulties; provide professional development workshops to support school districts to improve the reading achievement of elementary and high school students; and provide adult literacy workshops.

“To have something like this [Center], where they are experts in that space and want to help, providing resources is really critical and honestly a huge relief.” – Colorado Parent

“I have expressed to the school many times that I don’t understand how to help my daughter, and that I know she is very bright and eager to be a good student. I have consistently been told, just read to her and with her, and have her read, which we do. I am relieved to have actionable steps to take and appreciate your time and input more than I can say.” – Colorado Grandmother

External Advisory Council

Photo of a teacher sitting at a table with a book, looking up and smiling at a student. The MSU Denver Literacy Research Center and Clinic Advisory Council comprised of local, state, and national leaders in literacy education will advise the Center on: a) conducting timely, responsive, and significant literacy research for the state of Colorado, and b) improving the Center’s impact on literacy policy and practice in district, county, and state contexts.

Advisory council membership consists of leaders from academic, policy, non-profit, and funding backgrounds whose areas of expertise complement each other in providing critical perspectives on the work of the Center, and its wider impact on the field of literacy research.

Reading helps young people cultivate their dreams - dreams that grow as they grow. The path from dreams to skills to prosperous careers in the fields that inspire us is worth fighting for, and that’s what we’re doing in Colorado.

Governor Jared Polis

2025 Colorado’s State of the State Address

Research, Evaluation and Audit Services

A college students sits on a stool in a library row reading a book. The MSU Denver Literacy Research Center and Clinic provides research and evaluation services. We respond to inquiries from school districts and state legislators who want an independent analysis of literacy data or external expertise evaluating curriculum, instruction, and assessments.

The MSU Denver Literacy Research Center conducts rigorous quantitative and qualitative analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of literacy curricula, instruction, and literacy policy authorizations in Colorado.

We conduct research to improve the reading achievement of elementary and high school students and to improve the quality of literacy instruction in Colorado.