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Project Purpose

A student’s ability to read is a critical predictor of academic and lifelong success. Early identification of students who need additional support helps keep them on track.

WORDS in Illinois — Workshops on Reading Development Strategies — provides sustained support and professional development to prekindergarten through third grade teachers, empowering them to deliver effective reading instruction and assessment.

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Mission

Our mission is to improve reading outcomes for pre-K to third grade students in Illinois by providing districts with effective, practice-based strategies to support high-quality reading instruction and assessment.

Interested in participating?

WORDS is available at no cost to Illinois school districts thanks to generous funding. Email Rachel Schachter for more information.

Contact us to get started!

What Makes WORDS Different?

  • Sustainable WORDS is not a one-off workshop. It’s a sustainable professional development program that supports teachers throughout the year.

  • Tailored WORDS provides workshops, learning modules and other resources tailored to meet the needs of Illinois educators and students.

  • Support WORDS is not a new curriculum or assessment; we support schools in using their current instructional materials.

  • Who We Are

    WORDS in Illinois is led by a team of early literacy researchers and methodologists from the University of Illinois Chicago. It was developed in partnership with colleagues from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, University of California Irvine, Texas A&M, University of Iowa and the Nebraska Department of Education.

  • Project Support & Leadership

    Funding for WORDS in Illinois is provided through grant award number #S411B250058 from the U.S. Department of Education, Education and Innovation Research Program. The project is based in the University of Illinois Chicago College of Education and led by principal investigator Rachel Schachter. Additional funders include the Nebraska Department of Education, Swanson Biggs Adams Family Foundation and Amplify.