The Futuro Project

1. 1. Provide early childhood teachers professional development to gain a deeper understanding of how children learn to read, what skills are involved, and how those skills work together;
   2. Provide an evidence-based best practice approach for teaching foundational literacy skills;
   3. Promote the development of foundational reading skills for both typical and atypical readers;
   4. Provide teachers sustained and individualized coaching throughout the year;
   5. Support family engagement by providing home literacy activity resources;
   6. Engage with the community at an annual family event that provides multicultural, multilingual, and disability awareness books;
   7. Provide field trips that help preschoolers transition to kindergarten;
   8. Collaborate with stakeholders (NDE, CCSD, and RPDP) to promote support for teachers to develop and enhance effective instructional practices in literacy;
   9. Collaborate with the UNLV Center for Research Evaluation and Assessment to ensure the quality of program implementation.

Early literacy skills are critical to become successful readers and lifelong learners. The Futuro Project will bring substantial benefits to NV children and families by providing teachers professional development to strategically support multilingual children and children with disabilities.

Dr. Youngae Choi, Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education, directs the Futuro Project and Dr. Vanessa Mari, Associate Professor of Bilingual Education, is the co-principal investigator of the grant.

The Futuro Project is one of the fifth largest grants in the history of Nevada State. In fact, this grant is the only one awarded in NV from OELA in 2022.