Give-For-Good: Decode Project!

Our Mission: To eliminate inequities in education by fostering a diverse community of learners prepared to navigate the world.

Decode Project was founded in 2018 when its co-founders were inspired by their work with struggling young readers to create equitable and effective access to literacy and social-emotional academic support. Since then, Decode Project has worked with over 200 students and hundreds of caregivers, educators, and youth workers.

Our goal is equity in education. Our work is to close the opportunity gap by providing students with learning differences and financial barriers effective, structured literacy instruction.

My Decode Story:

My name is Jake Hendrix, and I am a Lead Literacy Mentor at Decode Project! Throughout my time at Decode Project, I have had the privilege of working with a plethora of brilliantly gifted students who possess incredible potential, but I have also witnessed firsthand the frustrating, sometimes demoralizing effects of struggling with literacy. While reading is a vital foundation for academic success, it is also deeply and intrinsically linked to the ways in which we navigate the world around us. It is interconnected with our confidence, social skills, and self-worth. 

At Decode Project, we not only give students the tools to decode literacy but also embolden them to fulfill their potential while fostering their character. We teach students that they "can do hard things," and that lesson has an impact that reaches far beyond the classroom. When a student starts at Decode Project, we start to see bigger smiles, hear louder laughs, and witness ever-growing confidence. Change is a process, but the immediate impact that Decode Project has and continues to have on the lives of our Decoders is staggering. If you would like to have a hand in continuing to change the lives of these amazing young students, then please donate! Thank you!

We do this in three key ways:

We Train Literacy Mentors - We train future educators and community leaders in evidence-based, multi-sensory Structured Literacy, anti-racist/anti-biased relationship building, resilience-building, and trauma-informed care.

We Teach Kids to Read- We partner students not yet reading at grade level and/or showing signs of dyslexia, with Literacy Mentors using structured literacy methods.

We Develop A Network of Advocates - We provide workshops, resources, individualized reports, and advocacy support for caregivers, community agencies, schools, and educators. We work to ensure all students have access to the resources necessary to become skilled readers.

An alarming 68% of Kentucky fourth-graders are not reading at grade level. As a city, our education failures land disproportionately on Black and brown students and students from low-income households. 71.7% of our public school 4th graders not reading at grade level are BIPOC students.

DP prioritizes students most in need of structured literacy. The structured literacy interventions Decode Project uses are designed for students with learning differences but they work for everyone! Our literacy interventions are multi-sensory, evidence-based, scientifically proven, and tailored to each student— a key to equity.

Reading is an essential skill for academic achievement, personal growth, civic engagement, and overall positive health outcomes. It is our belief that literacy is a first step to improving our community as a whole.  We must prepare all children to follow their natural curiosities and passions so they can grow up to educate, understand, inspire, and transform the world around them. With your help, we can continue to create equity in education for all students in our community!

To learn more, visit us at decodeproject.org or send us an email at info@decodeproject.org.

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