The Teens for Literacy program positions students to inspire their peers and their communities regarding the importance of literacy. The program also encourages students to consider college as an option after high school graduation. Armstrong State University and schools within Savannah-Chatham County as well as Evans County serve as educational partners in implementing the program.
To achieve this mission, the program:
- Involves students directly in promoting literacy among their peers and within their communities
- Hosts student visits to Armstrong State University
The following are key elements of Teens for Literacy at each participating school site:
Partnering schools designate a staff or faculty liaison to manage a student leadership team, facilitate implementation of literacy activities, and to communicate resource needs to Armstrong.
Student Leadership Team
Partnering schools select students who exhibit leadership capabilities to represent their student body as the Teens for Literacy student leadership team. This team meets regularly to generate and implement ideas for promoting literacy within their schools and within their communities.
The partner liaison creates a suite of activities for the students and school to execute within the school or community based on the student leadership team ideas. Armstrong supports faculty and students in the implementation of these activities.
Each spring, the student leadership team from each partnering school visits Armstrong to participate in the Shadowing Day event. This event exposes students to the “college experience.” During this event, students participate in a campus tour, visit a college course, interact with Armstrong students, and participate in a luncheon to celebrate their achievements as literacy leaders.
Faculty involved in Teens for Literacy
Dr. Anne Katz
Teens for Literacy Faculty Advisor
Dr. Allen Berger, who was on the faculty at Armstrong State University, founded the Teens for Literacy program in 1989 at Miami University (Ohio). He created the program to help inner-city school children improve their reading and writing skills. With the support of Henry Jung, the Director of University Gifts at Miami University until mid-1998, Dr. Berger was able to spread the program throughout inner-city schools in southwestern Ohio. Dr. Allen Berger introduced Teens for Literacy at Armstrong in 2011.