Latin Grammar School won an Early Language and Literacy Mini Grant from the Governor’s Office
of Student Achievement. The Title 1 school will arm parents in their school with resources to build 
their children’s literacy skills through a program called Building Bridges to Reading: Parents Are Teachers Too (PATT). The program will target at least 100 parents of kindergarten through third-grade students performing below grade level.
The school’s Building Bridges to Reading Program, comes from the belief that as a child’s first teacher, parents need tools to support their children’s development. While there are many programs targeting physical and social/emotional development, there is a continued need for training that addresses the parent’s contribution to academic success. Latin Grammar School intends to provide quality reading instruction that parents can effectively use with their students at home. Latin Grammar School believes students often have limited access to a literacy rich environment beyond the school walls. As a result, school leaders want to build a bridge that can carry research-based reading interventions into the home, changing reading habits and closing the academic achievement gap in their community.
The school also thinks that assessment should guide instruction. Latin Grammar School will use student performance data to identify student needs and differentiate instruction to maximize student achievement. The success of the Building Bridges to Reading Program will be measured by analyzing data from quarterly STEP assessments and MAP Testing. The school will use the data to continue to fine tune the initiative to ensure its meeting the needs of students and parents.
The program will be managed by Jamal Taylor, Latin Grammar School’s Director of Student Support Services and Culture. The school will also partner to provide resources and information for the project with other local stakeholders: Allyson Richardson, Latin Grammar’s PTO President; Kim Eccles, Assistant Dean for Research Services at Mercer University; and Derek Wilson, the Manager of the East Point Library.
