Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Fort Hayes State University Opens Virtual Literacy Center

  • 11/04/19

HAYS, KS – The Department of Teacher Education at Fort Hays State University has developed and opened the Virtual Literacy Center to make the highest quality, cutting edge, scientific-based tutoring services available to the school districts in approximately 25 counties in Northwest Kansas.

Dr. Sarah Miller, assistant professor of teacher education; Dr. Beth Walizer, professor of teacher education; and Hannah Frazer, pre-service teacher/VISTA member, collaborated to develop and pilot the program with USD 407 in Russell, KS.

“In the past, Northwest Kansas has been grossly underserved simply because of logistics and the challenges of physically getting the proper help to the children who need it most,” says Miller. “However, with innovation and technology, the miles between students and tutors has been overcome.”

As literacy professors, both Miller and Walizer have watched young people who struggle with illiteracy encounter roadblocks as they seek to enter post-secondary education, the professional world, or the workforce.

“I have seen first–hand the extremely difficult struggles of children who cannot read,” says Walizer.

The Virtual Literacy Center will equip educators with the latest tools and programs to identify specific reading difficulties in children and develop custom-designed interventions and strategies to help each individual child.

All that is required to use the center is the Internet and a reliable computer with a webcam. These resources can easily be provided by a local school or public library.

If any parent, educator, administrator, or other party is interested in this program or has questions, contact Dr. Sarah Miller at 785/628-4204.

Featured

  • TCU Marks Campus Expansion Milestone

    Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a topping-out ceremony to mark progress on a major campus expansion effort including four new residential facilities and a five-story parking garage, according to a news release.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.