The Ohio High School Transformation Initiative has developed an adolescent literacy plan that includes multiple strategies and approaches, which teachers can use in addressing the needs of individual students.

All students come to the classroom with multiple literacies based on a myriad of life experiences, interests, and skills. Naturally, it's important for teachers to apply student background knowledge to the teaching and learning process, particularly in building literacy skills across the content areas. Because students have a variety of learning styles, no singular approach or strategy will effectively address the needs of every student.

The ultimate goals are to empower all teachers to employ reading and writing strategies to support literacy development in content areas, increase student achievement, and develop a mindset among teachers that all content area teachers must also be developers of student literacy. Specifically:

• Our Foundation will work with schools over the course of the initiative to improve the communications fluency of the students we serve. Communication fluency is defined by the student's ability to read (including vocabulary development, word recognition, and reading comprehension), and his or her ability to write, speak, and listen.
• Through a system of technical assistance and professional development, our Foundation will assist schools in building their own capacity to develop stronger literacy strategies across the curriculum, and to achieve a greater level of literacy proficiency in students.