Adding Structure to Momentum:
The Mebane Early Literacy CenterBy Wills Citty
When the Mebane Foundation, a North Carolina nonprofit organization and stalwart in early literacy, sought education leaders to continue its legacy, it conducted a statewide search and believed in the direction of the Cato College of Education. The result is an endowment of up to $23 million dollars, one of the largest in UNC Charlotte’s history, to establish the Mebane Early Literacy Center, a future hub for literacy education in North Carolina and beyond.
“Many ask me, ‘Why Charlotte?’ And my answer is, the campus has a vibe,” said Larry Colbourne, president of the Mebane Foundation. “When we arrived here, we immediately felt like great things were about to happen here. It’s a building, and it’s Mebane Hall, and that is really exciting. But it’s what goes on between these four walls that matters. Like Allen [Mebane], we must always be disruptors, we must always be innovators,” Colbourne added, speaking at the ceremony for the newly named Mebane Hall, home of the Cato College of Education, in honor of the gift.
Primary in the center’s philosophy is its dedication to understanding and implementing evidence-based practices and research-driven methods in literacy instruction. Through collaboration with schools, community organizations and academic researchers, the Mebane Early Literacy Center will serve as a catalyst for enhancing the understanding and delivery of how children learn to read and how students at all ability levels can be provided what they need to get there.
The center’s interdisciplinary approach underscores the Cato College of Education’s commitment to leading collaboration across diverse fields of study. By connecting expertise from faculty members in education, psychology, linguistics, and other disciplines, the center will facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange to address complex challenges in early literacy education.
Funding supports Mebane Early Literacy Scholars
A signature element of the center is its support for 20 Mebane Early Literacy Scholars. Over the course of the two-year program, each scholar is eligible for up to $16,000 in funding for participating.
Mebane Enhanced Pathway
Mebane Early Literacy Scholars will complete a rigorous curriculum that exposes each future educator to:
- Comprehensive coursework rooted in established research on teaching literacy effectively to all children
- Hands-on clinical placements that offer sustained opportunities to see, practice, and engage in teaching literacy to diverse groups of students
- Professional learning outside of course and fieldwork that extends teacher candidates’ literacy-related knowledge, practice and skills
- Opportunities to engage with families, caregivers and other stakeholders within communities to better understand the children they are teaching
In total, the time investment over the academic year for each Mebane Scholar in extended enrichment and mentorship activities is expected to be around four hours per week or 232 hours per year. The Mebane endowment will fund two new professor of practice roles, for which the college will recruit K-5 teachers from the field to prepare teachers-in-training for today’s students and classrooms.
“There are answers to today’s challenges in early literacy, and I will tell you the Cato College of Education is a part of discovering and bringing those solutions to life.”
“Our college’s intention to serve as a leader in early literacy was set many years ago, and what we’re seeing now is an expected progression of that intentionality, with a broadening and deepening of the work,” said Malcolm Butler, dean of Cato College of Education. “With the establishment of the Mebane Early Literacy Center and the transformational contributions of the Mebane Foundation, our ability to understand the science of reading, convene difference-makers and apply what we learn together is only expanding. There are answers to today’s challenges in early literacy, and I will tell you the Cato College of Education is a part of discovering and bringing those solutions to life.”
Expanding minds
With the hiring of leading literacy and neuroscience researcher Kelly Cartwright as the Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Literacy, the Cato College is adding an important perspective and building the knowledge base of its team.
“A challenge for educators is that reading is often framed as a simple process, a view that is compounded by the fact that reading often feels simple for many educators who got into the profession because they love reading and likely learned to read easily,” said Cartwright. “Science shows that behind that simplicity, reading is tremendously complex and requires the brain to orchestrate many processes simultaneously. They may happen below the level of conscious awareness in skilled readers, but they must be taught explicitly for learners and individuals who experience challenges in learning to read.”
Wills Citty is director of communications for the Cato College of Education.
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Adding Structure to Momentum
The Mebane Early Literacy Center
By Wills Citty
When the Mebane Foundation, a North Carolina nonprofit organization and stalwart in early literacy, sought education leaders to continue its legacy, it conducted a statewide search and believed in the direction of the Cato College of Education. The result is an endowment of up to $23 million dollars, one of the largest in UNC Charlotte’s history, to establish the Mebane Early Literacy Center, a future hub for literacy education in North Carolina and beyond.
“Many ask me, ‘Why Charlotte?’ And my answer is, the campus has a vibe,” said Larry Colbourne, president of the Mebane Foundation. “When we arrived here, we immediately felt like great things were about to happen here. It’s a building, and it’s Mebane Hall, and that is really exciting. But it’s what goes on between these four walls that matters. Like Allen [Mebane], we must always be disruptors, we must always be innovators,” Colbourne added, speaking at the ceremony for the newly named Mebane Hall, home of the Cato College of Education, in honor of the gift.
Primary in the center’s philosophy is its dedication to understanding and implementing evidence-based practices and research-driven methods in literacy instruction. Through collaboration with schools, community organizations and academic researchers, the Mebane Early Literacy Center will serve as a catalyst for enhancing the understanding and delivery of how children learn to read and how students at all ability levels can be provided what they need to get there.
The center’s interdisciplinary approach underscores the Cato College of Education’s commitment to leading collaboration across diverse fields of study. By connecting expertise from faculty members in education, psychology, linguistics, and other disciplines, the center will facilitate dialogue and knowledge exchange to address complex challenges in early literacy education.
Funding supports Mebane Early Literacy Scholars
A signature element of the center is its support for 20 Mebane Early Literacy Scholars. Over the course of the two-year program, each scholar is eligible for up to $16,000 in funding for participating.
Mebane Enhanced Pathway
Mebane Early Literacy Scholars will complete a rigorous curriculum that exposes each future educator to:
- Comprehensive coursework rooted in established research on teaching literacy effectively to all children
- Hands-on clinical placements that offer sustained opportunities to see, practice, and engage in teaching literacy to diverse groups of students
- Professional learning outside of course and fieldwork that extends teacher candidates’ literacy-related knowledge, practice and skills
- Opportunities to engage with families, caregivers and other stakeholders within communities to better understand the children they are teaching
In total, the time investment over the academic year for each Mebane Scholar in extended enrichment and mentorship activities is expected to be around four hours per week or 232 hours per year. The Mebane endowment will fund two new professor of practice roles, for which the college will recruit K-5 teachers from the field to prepare teachers-in-training for today’s students and classrooms.
“There are answers to today’s challenges in early literacy, and I will tell you the Cato College of Education is a part of discovering and bringing those solutions to life.”
“Our college’s intention to serve as a leader in early literacy was set many years ago, and what we’re seeing now is an expected progression of that intentionality, with a broadening and deepening of the work,” said Malcolm Butler, dean of Cato College of Education. “With the establishment of the Mebane Early Literacy Center and the transformational contributions of the Mebane Foundation, our ability to understand the science of reading, convene difference-makers and apply what we learn together is only expanding. There are answers to today’s challenges in early literacy, and I will tell you the Cato College of Education is a part of discovering and bringing those solutions to life.”
Expanding minds
With the hiring of leading literacy and neuroscience researcher Kelly Cartwright as the Spangler Distinguished Professor of Early Literacy, the Cato College is adding an important perspective and building the knowledge base of its team.
“A challenge for educators is that reading is often framed as a simple process, a view that is compounded by the fact that reading often feels simple for many educators who got into the profession because they love reading and likely learned to read easily,” said Cartwright. “Science shows that behind that simplicity, reading is tremendously complex and requires the brain to orchestrate many processes simultaneously. They may happen below the level of conscious awareness in skilled readers, but they must be taught explicitly for learners and individuals who experience challenges in learning to read.”
Wills Citty is director of communications for the Cato College of Education.