Leadership * Literacy * Transformation

The HILL is a leading professional development provider in literacy and school reform.

HILL Professional Development Workshops
The HILL is offering a number of professional development workshops this spring and summer. Go here for more information.

HILL partners with district administrators, principals, coaches and teachers to improve the reading achievement of all students, particularly struggling readers, using a systemic school-wide change model.

HILL has been the primary professional development provider in Massachusetts’ Reading First and Early Reading First initiatives in Boston and Chelsea and has impacted the literacy outcomes of hundreds of schools throughout New England and the nation.

The United States, despite its wealth and prominence in the world, has large numbers of children and adults who cannot read even the most basic of print. Some statistics include:

40% of American 4th graders cannot read at benchmark (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2005)
The U.S. is being outpaced in math and science as well, subjects that are impacted by children’s literacy skills
Over 50% of urban children drop out of school
Dropouts are much more likely than their peers to be unemployed, on public assistance, in prison, single parents and to have children who also drop out of school
The National Institutes of Health have recognized that high illiteracy rates of children are a national health care crisis that needs immediate attention (NICHD, 2000).

Since 2001, the Hanson Initiative for Language & Literacy has been committed to improving the literacy outcomes of students in school districts with large numbers of disadvantaged students.

View our video to hear about the impact the HILL has had in a number of schools or read about the HILL Campaign for Literacy.

If you would like to make a gift after learning more about the HILL Campaign for Literacy, contact:

Shirley Carr, Program Manager
Hanson Initiative for Language & Literacy
617-726-7728
sacarr@mghihp.edu

The HILL was designed by the faculty of the Communications Sciences & Disorders (CSD) graduate program at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, an academic affiliate of the Massachusetts General Hospital. CSD faculty are nationally recognized experts on written and spoken language. For more information about all aspects of the CSD program, visit the MGH Institute of Health Profession’s web site: www.mghihp.edu/csd.