Even though he may have dropped out of Harvard University, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Massachusetts native Priscilla Chan, had some great news for both Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology today. The couple gifted the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Integrated Learning Initiative $30 million to launch a five-year initiative known as Reach Every Reader.
The collaboration is focused on improving early literacy, especially for children with reading issues and is designed to combine both institutions’ expertise in cognitive science, reading, learning technologies, and evaluation to help the children succeed as readers both at home and at school.
Photo Credit: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Priscilla Chan shared on social media, “For this initiative, practitioners and researchers at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Integrated Learning Initiative, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and The Florida Center for Reading Research have teamed up. Together, they’ll share cutting-edge research in cognitive science, reading, and technology to develop new solutions to help understand how children learn, diagnose learning difficulties early on, and help children master reading before the end of the third grade. Through bold, innovative collaborations like this one, we’re moving closer to better understanding how students learn, and finding the best ways to support them early on in their learning journeys.
According to the Harvard Gazette, HGSE Dean James E. Ryan’s said, “HGSE is thrilled to partner with MITili on Reach Every Reader. This first-of-its-kind initiative will explore the power of personalized interventions on improving children’s literacy outcomes, and in doing so, may dramatically change how schools and families teach reading. Literacy is key to helping all children reach their full potential as learners and citizens, and we are grateful to Priscilla and Mark for their backing of this vital effort.”
Photo Credit: The Harvard Gazette
