LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The new Kentucky Reading Research Center has been created to support educators in implementing reliable, replicable reading programs and promote literacy development in Kentucky.

Executive director Amy Lingo, says she started her career as a teacher and has seen first-hand the struggle of students reading below grade level.

“Some of my students in seventh grade could not read. And I, as a teacher, wasn’t fully equipped to teach a seventh grader who was reading below grade level how to read,” said Lingo.

Lingo said there are numerous variables and complexities in learning or teaching someone how to read.

“We have students for a very short amount of time. So it’s imperative and critical that teachers use the most effective practices while we have them in our classrooms,” added Lingo.

According to the Kentucky Department of Education, more than half of Kentucky students are below grade level in reading. The project involves a partnership with UofL’s College of Education and Human Development and the Kentucky Department of Education and it includes a two-year, $6 million contract. The Kentucky Reading Research Center will deliver research and data on highly efficient instructional practices and strategies.

“We know that literacy rates aren’t where they need to be. And so our goal is to increase literacy rates specifically here in Kentucky,” said Lingo.

Lingo said she is excited that the state of Kentucky is investing in literacy to promote economic development and making academic achievement possible for students.

The Kentucky Reading Research Center believes this center will be a national model for what other states can do in disseminating, evidence-based practices around the practices that help teach reading.