麻豆传媒

For six decades, UB’s Center for Literacy and Reading Instruction (CLaRI) has helped thousands of children struggling with reading. Children across Western New York receive personalized reading instruction from graduate students who are already certified teachers pursuing advanced literacy specialist degrees.

The center currently collaborates with eight local school districts to support children, families and educators in advancing literacy. Through a combination of research, assessment and instruction, the center promotes literacy development for all children, regardless of their background — including socioeconomic status, language, culture, religion, race or ethnicity.

Established in 1963, CLaRI has been guided by three directors over its history: founding director William Eller (until 1971), Michael Kibby (1971–2007) and Mary McVee, who has led the center since 2007.

The center’s mission is rooted in the belief that literacy is foundational to a child’s voice, agency and lifelong learning. As co-founders, Eller and Kibby laid a foundation that continues through alumni, faculty and new initiatives. Nationally recognized for its contributions to literacy research, CLaRI also has a strong local presence through professional development for teachers and individualized services for children and their families. Tutoring is provided in a welcoming, child- and family-centered environment, with each student working in a dedicated space tailored to their specific reading and writing needs.

“The center, originally known as ‘the clinic’ has long been recognized as a space that serves the needs of children,” McVee says. “Families and caregivers, as well as the UB students who serve as clinicians there, are all important, but the legacy of the clinic (now CLaRI) has always been to keep the child at the center of learning. That objective was personified in CLaRI’s longest serving director, Michael Kibby, and we still try to keep child-centeredness at the heart of what we do.”

Each school year, 25 to 30 students participate in after-school and Saturday tutoring on-site, with an additional 60 children enrolled in summer programs. The center also offers virtual tutoring and a summer reading camp staffed by literacy-specialist graduate students, blending research-based teaching with practical applications. Additional tutoring programs are offered through partnerships with local schools.

McVee says CLaRI is unique and that UB is one of the few research universities in the country that has maintained a physical and programmatic impact through its literacy center.

“I don’t think people realize how unusual it is to have a dedicated literacy center on campus,” she notes.

All tutoring is supervised by university literacy faculty, and the center also serves as a hands-on training site for future reading teachers, referred to as literacy specialists in New York State. Alumni who have studied, tutored and researched in the center have gone on to have significant professional influence, not only in Western New York, but throughout the U.S.

“They have served as classroom teachers, literacy specialists, curriculum consultants, professors and college instructors, district and state leaders, researchers, educational consultants, department chairs and deans of colleges of education. It is difficult to gauge the tremendous reach of their work and the legacy of the center,” McVee says.

CLaRI describes itself as a “community of learners,” where children grow as readers and writers while educators deepen their understanding of effective, developmentally appropriate literacy instruction.

The 60th anniversary celebration, held in April, welcomed upward of 50 people — including alumni, current literacy faculty and students.

The event opened with a lecture on literacy by Sharon Walpole of the University of Delaware’s School of Education, followed by brunch in Harriman Ballroom.

Hannah Montgomery, ClaRI’s program and operations administrator, says the event offered an opportunity to reflect and connect.

“It provided people a chance to catch up with each other and network. It also gave people the opportunity to get together and reflect on the center,” Montgomery says.

Attendees also discussed what’s ahead for the center. Plans include investigating the role of technology in learning and new approaches in improving reading and writing proficiency, a move to Foster Hall on the South Campus to improve access via public transit, and continuation of virtual talks about literacy learning and teaching for teachers, parents and researchers.

“We’re very excited,” McVee says. “We are planning future outreach and events with alumni including a virtual book club. We are revamping the research directions for ClaRI with input from CLaRI Associate Director of Research John Strong and CLaRI Associate Director Curriculum and Instruction Ashlee Campbell.”

One thing that will not change is ClaRI’s commitment to helping all children, regardless of background, develop literacy skills that empower them in school and life.

CLaRI has built a legacy of learning and McVee says the best chapters are still ahead.

“We’ve had 60 amazing years and accomplished so much. It’s exciting to think about how literacy instruction and research will change in the coming decades,” McVee says. “There are challenges but also great opportunities for research and practice.

“And in the end, we will still need child-centered approaches to literacy, and parents and caregivers will always want the best for their children.”