Chicago's largest literacy nonprofit expands footprint

As the leading literacy nonprofit in Chicago, Working in the Schools manages a $3 million dollar operation and trains 1,500 volunteers with a full-time staff of just 18 employees.

Since 2012, WITS has increased their corporate partnerships from 36 to 70, and they have expanded from 24 schools to 90.

During the 2017-2018 school year alone, WITS provided 35,000 hours of literacy support for elementary school students and 3,300 hours of professional development to Rochelle Lee Teacher Awardees, resulting in 70 percent of WITS students surpassing the national average for annual reading level growth. To-date WITS has added 25,000 books to classrooms and students' homes through the Rochelle Lee Teacher Award program, and support of 151 RTLA teachers will continue in the 2018-2019 school year.

WITS is a nonprofit that sets students on a trajectory for success by building critical literacy skills and developing positive self-identity through teacher-led professional development and volunteer-powered mentorship programs. Through an interconnected network of staff, teachers and volunteers across 90 CPS schools, WITS has dug the largest footprint of any literacy organization in Chicago.

Private funds cover 100 percent of WITS work, with zero reliance on school or city budgets. WITS believes that the model of pipelines of mentors across different schools can establish the tone and culture in schools for all students to become literate. Using these models, WITS staff, teachers and volunteers have built and sustained a community that creates opportunities for thousands of CPS students to become literate.

WITS programs are designed to help students make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn, ideally by third or fourth grade. Reading to learn is a key indicator of high school graduation and a pivotal step with major long-term implications. Without this transition, it's impossible for students to develop skills that many work opportunities of the 21st century require, especially STEM fields.

Committed to the value of consistency, WITS maintains an active presence and works with students and teachers throughout the full school year and over the summer. Sustained in this way, the work does not end after a couple mentor sessions. Rather, over 1800 WITS volunteer mentors foster relationships as they work with the same student weekly all year.

Seventy percent of WITS students reported an improvement in overall attitude toward reading and reading behaviors (IE: reading out loud, reading during a test, reading to learn, etc.)