THE PROBLEM: Up to 20% of the estimated 11,000 children in Wayne County have a diagnosed or undiagnosed Specific Learning Disability (SLD) and its co-morbidity.
A SOLUTION: The Wayne County Public Library will launch the Learning Studio designed to support children with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities. Inspired by Richland Library in South Carolina, this project will offer several components. One part of the project will be the launch of a resource center. Housed in the Goldsboro Library’s children’s department, this collection will circulate assistive equipment, curriculums, workbooks, games, and manipulatives to support the needs of children with learning differences (and really all children). The library will also offer monthly programming for parents and caretakers that will include but is not limited to: support groups, strategy trainings from professionals, identification information, and IEP support from Wayne County Public Schools. These programs will be designed to provide parents and caretakers with the tools and strategies they need to help their children increase their reading and comprehension skills while allowing parents to converse with each other in a supportive environment. During the summer, qualified teachers and/or teaching students will offer free, one-on-one, tutoring. An online resource page will be created to highlight reliable curriculums and interventions, provide definitions for several SLDs and provide referrals to up-to-date research.
THE VISION: To have a community that identifies learning differences and intervenes before children learn to fail.
To date, the Learning Studio has:
- Worked with community agencies to launch videos, websites, and a proclamation to share information with our residents.
- Hosted a variety of workshops to help our community recognize, celebrate, and support those with learning differences these include community workshops and partner trainings.
- Launched its resource center at the Goldsboro Library.
- Launched a resource page within the library’s website that will refer people to accurate and authoritative information.
- Launched a free referral based tutoring service at First Christian Church. Serving 48 students this summer, the library has already begun to see reading growth in students.
Upcoming Learning Studio achievements will be:
- Releasing a final report documenting the project’s successes and visions for the future.
A student using materials from the Learning Studio Resource Center
FUNDING: Funded through a LSTA grant from the State Library of North Carolina.
COMMUNITY PARTNER: Wayne County Public Schools
PROJECT MANAGER: Maegen Wilson, 919-580-4014, email.