Project READY FAQ
Question Index:
- What is Project READY: Reimagining Equity and Access for Diverse Youth?
- How many people are participating?
- What are the benefits of participation?
- What will participants do?
- What are the project’s research components?
- Will teams receive anything for participating?
- How do I apply?
- When will the online version of the curriculum be available?
- How can I learn more?
What is Project READY: Reimagining Equity and Access for Diverse Youth?
Project READY was created to help school librarians, classroom teachers, and literacy coaches develop the skills they need to effectively serve diverse youth. It is a collaboration between the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) and the library and information science schools at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Over half (51.4%) of the enrolled students in WCPSS are youth of color. The district also serves nearly 12,000 students in its Limited English Proficiency program. Finally, WCPSS serves students from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, with approximately one-third of its students eligible for free- or reduced-price lunch. Project READY will engage participants in learning about cultural competency, culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP), and equity literacy. The project has two major components: a face-to-face professional development series for WCPSS educators, and an online version of the curriculum which will be freely accessible and designed for use by both individuals and groups / organizations.
Project READY is generously funded by the Institute of Museum & Library Services. For more information, visit the project website or read the full grant proposal.
How many people are participating?
Thirty teams of WCPSS educators have been chosen to participate in Project READY. Each team consists of one school librarian, one classroom teacher, and one literacy coach (or another staff member with expertise in reading and writing). In total, the 30 schools represented by our teams serve over 32,000 K-12 students, the majority of whom are students of color.
What are the benefits of participation?
Project READY participants will have the opportunity to:
- develop the skills to help diverse students achieve academic success
- identify and address needs that are specific to their diverse student population
- build relationships with colleagues in their school and across the district who share a commitment to equity
- receive ongoing support from project staff and cohort members for one year, and
- advance their professional learning in alignment with the WCPSS Strategic Plan (Vision 2020, see graphic below).
What will participants do?
Participating teams will be required to:
- attend and fully participate in five full days (8:30 – 3:30) of face-to-face professional development (July 10-14, July 24-28, or August 7-11, 2017),
- implement culturally sustaining teaching and equity literacy practices in their schools,
- participate in a series of three webinars over the course of the 2017-2018 school year,
- provide one building-level professional development session for colleagues in their schools, and
- agree to the project’s research components (click here to read the informed consent document).
What are the project’s research components?
In addition to our goal of positively impacting education in WCPSS, we plan to share our PD curriculum and data about its implementation and impact with the school library and education communities. To that end, we will be collecting a variety of data from project participants to help us analyze, assess, and refine the PD materials. This data collection has been reviewed and approved by the UNC Chapel Hill Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the WCPSS Research Office.
Project participants have agreed to:
- have observational notes taken during training sessions and webinars
- share work products related to the training, including three unit or lesson plans and reflections created during the 2017-2018 school year
- complete a pre- and post-training survey
- participate in either an interview or focus group in Spring 2018
To learn more about the research component, read the project consent form.
Will Teams receive anything for participating?
Participants who complete all project components as outlined above will receive a $200 honorarium and 3 literacy CEU credits. The cost of substitutes will be covered for year-round staff. Breakfast and lunch will be provided at face-to-face professional development sessions.
How do I apply?
The project application window is now closed.
You may still click here for a PDF version of the application if you are interested in viewing it.
When will the online version of the curriculum be available?
After the initial face-to-face PD sessions are completed in Summer 2017, the project team will shift its focus to translating the curriculum into an online format. Our goal is for this online material to be usable for individuals, small groups, and school or district level administrators. We plan to roll out the online version of the curricum in Summer 2018.
How can I learn more?
View or download the participant brochure. If you have any questions about the project get in touch with Casey Rawson, Postdoctoral Associate, crawson@email.unc.edu, or visit the Connect page of this website.