Making Reading a Part of Children’s Lives

The Rochelle Lee Fund (RLF) invests in teachers as agents of change in the urban education environment.  As a network of urban educators focused on developing readers, we provide teachers with high-caliber professional development and new, high-quality children’s books for their classrooms.

RLF teachers invest in all students in their classrooms each year.  In addition, RLF teachers invest in their fellow educators by leading, collaborating, and promoting best practices throughout their schools.  The RLF investment in teachers provides broad and deep results many times over. 

Teachers matter.  Educational research states that teacher quality is a key determinant of student success.  Studies suggest that teacher quality is more closely related to student achievement than other factors such as class size, spending, and educational materials. 

Teachers are particularly critical in urban school systems where students often have more limited reading resources, role models, and support systems.  With consistent access to high quality teachers, disadvantaged students can and do overcome significant obstacles and achieve great success as citizens in the 21st century. 

Approach

© 2008 Rochelle Lee Fund