Our Mission
Literacy is the foundation of success in our professional and personal lives, yet 50 percent of our children are not reaching the minimum reading standard.
Language is requisite to relatedness, academic success, and personal wellbeing; and in the 21st century, reading is for the first time in history, fundamental to our understanding and experience of language.
We at UEHL realize that children who are falling behind in reading are falling behind in life. We recognize the reality of the school-to-prison pipeline, the overwhelming statistics that connect literacy directly to economic and social success, as well as the correlation between mental health and literacy.
Our mission is to ensure that every child in public school in the United States is reading at grade level by third grade.
Philosophy
UEHL recognizes that successful reading and learning does not begin with letters and sounds, but rather with emotional and social preparedness as well as an early environment rich in language and sensory experience.
The model classroom that we support is rooted in experiential, sensorial, and child-driven philosophies and practices. We recognize that not all students have the same needs, nor do all communities share the same socio-cultural context; correspondingly, we welcome a variety of research-validated philosophies and approaches that support what we know about the brain and the emotional life of the child.