New Worlds Reading Initiative Family and Community Engagement Specialist

Lastinger Center for Learning is an education innovation hub within UF’s College of Education focused on creating equitable education systems that improve teaching and learning across early childhood and K-12 education. Specifically, the Center targets kindergarten readiness, 3rd grade reading proficiency, and algebra proficiency as critical milestones in children’s educational trajectory that are predictive of success in school and life. The Center works at the nexus of research, practice, and policy to develop sustainable systems that leverage educational technologies and improve the implementation of research-based practices. Housed in one of the nation’s elite public research universities, the Center operates as a dynamic, entrepreneurial workplace focused on executing against UF’s service mission to strengthen the human condition and improve the quality of life.

New Worlds Reading Initiative
In 2021, the Florida Legislature created the New Worlds Reading Initiative, Florida’s first statewide book distribution program, to provide at-home literacy supports for students reading below grade level. Under the initiative, a high-quality, hardcopy book is delivered monthly to eligible students. Their parents are provided resources to help improve their student’s reading skills and instill a love of reading. The Department of Education has designated the Lastinger Center as the Administrator for the program, responsible for fulfilling all the requirements of the initiative.

Engagement and Implementation

• Collaborate with community organizations across the state to organize and participate in events to promote NWRI.
• Support team members in facilitating face-to-face and virtual professional development learning experiences
• Conduct project meetings and communicates project status with customers, project team members, vendors and supervisors
• Assist the Engagement manager with project plans, including family nights, timelines, and milestones.
• Develop and deliver progress reports, proposals, requirements documentation and presentations.
• Recruit and enroll participants.
• Support the continuous development of best practices and tools for project management and execution.

Collaboration and Logistical Support

• Provide administrative and logistical support for program activities.
• Assist with events planning, set-up, and onsite coordination.
• Locate and set up locations for professional development events, site visits, workshops, and meetings.
• Meet as needed to address relevant issues with NWRI and Literacy Teams.
• Troubleshoot challenges and address them as they arise; coordinate with other project staff providing implementation support to ensure consistency and effective communication structures.
• Execute implementation components of within the project budget available: Travel, Materials, Personnel, other items necessary
• Support NWRI leadership as requested.
• Engage in workgroups and project design as deemed necessary by the NWRI team.
• Collaborate with the Business Services team in organizing and coordinating events.

Project Feedback and Evaluation

• Distribute and collect documentation from participants, such as applications, surveys, questionnaires, focus groups, etc. and other data needed to support evaluation of projects.
• Participate in program development and evaluation.
• Update program databases and conduct queries for reports.
• Conduct post project assessments and evaluations.
• Develop and deliver progress reports, proposals, requirements documentation
  and presentations.

Other Duties as Assigned

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The mission of the Lastinger Center for Learning is to create equitable educational systems where every child and educator, regardless of circumstances, experiences high-quality learning every day to support children’s achievement of critical milestones that are predictive of success in school and life. In order to achieve this mission, the Lastinger Center is committed to attracting, hiring, and retaining a dynamic and diverse team. The University of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to nondiscrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations, genetic information and veteran status in also aspects of employment including recruitment, hiring, promotion, transfers, discipline, terminations, wage and salary administration, benefits and training.