Early efforts are underway in Sarasota and Manatee counties to help struggling readers become proficient.
Thanks to an adult who lived most of her life unaware of a dyslexia diagnosis, early efforts are underway in Sarasota and Manatee counties to help struggling readers become proficient and identify those with learning disorders so learners of all ages can access much-needed resources.
The Strauss Literacy Initiative, managed by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, is bringing together nonprofit organizations, schools, and education partners to significantly influence professional awareness about literary challenges like dyslexia and positively impact families across the region.
Designed to provide a continuum of services for children, families and teachers, the Strauss Literacy Initiative is reimagining opportunities for struggling readers in three key ways:
- Identifying those with learning disorders
- Supporting literacy interventions from early reading supports through post-secondary services
- Professional development for teachers to equip them with intervention strategies that help identify, predict, and adjust for dyslexia and other learning challenges
Often going undiagnosed for years, dyslexia affects more than 40 million Americans – nearly 15% of the U.S. population – many of whom do not know where to turn for much-needed resources.
Growing up, Patricia “Patti” Strauss found reading and writing uniquely challenging, yet for most of her life could never pinpoint why. After years of searching for answers with loving encouragement from her husband, Ira Strauss, Patti at last received a diagnosis: dyslexia, sometimes known as “a specific learning disability.” She and her husband, Ira, vowed that no child would go through the confusion that she had.
This vision shared by Ira and Patti lives on today through a charitable fund they established with guidance from estate attorneys Ric Gregoria and Colton Castro at Williams Parker, the Strauss’ longtime financial advisor Michael White at RBC Wealth Management, and the Community Foundation.
Established in 2018 with a $23 million endowment, The Ira and Patricia Strauss Fund for Children's Literacy now serves children from birth through college by providing phonics instruction programming, early diagnosis of reading challenges, and continuously accessing and improving methods to address community learning needs.
Ira and Patricia Strauss
After years of research and community engagement, the Strauss Literacy Initiative's early efforts at three local organizations are already uncovering meaningful results, from the classrooms of Visible Men Academy to the hallways of St. Mary Academy to the disability centers of State College of Florida. Students as young as Kindergarten to those just beginning their college careers are all grappling with how to navigate their learning differences. Many are now finding solutions to the problems that have challenged them for years.
Read stories, view photos, and listen to dispatches from these pilot partners and those supported through the initiative in the section below.
October 31, 2024
Student literacy progress through Science of Reading fuels momentum in Strauss Literacy Initiative
The term “dyslexia” was first used more than 130 years ago, by German ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin. He first noticed something amiss when he began working with adult patients who…
December 6, 2023
Strauss Literacy Initiative's advisory council: a guiding light to literacy
If the Strauss Literacy Initiative’s goal is to ensure that every child has the best possible chance of reading at grade level, then there is one ingredient that has proved pivotal: expe…
October 31, 2023
Empowering Students, One Phoneme at a Time
In 2018, the Community Foundation of Sarasota County was provided a worthwhile opportunity with the establishment of the Strauss Literacy Initiative: to work with educators to provide a pathwa…
May 11, 2023
Improving Literacy Letter by Letter
The teacher has a card with two letters on it: “Aw.” She faces it towards a group of five students seated at a blue semicircular table. “What other letter makes the ‘…
April 3, 2023
The ABCs of Legacy
Some small, ordinary moments in life pack so much magic that they remain with us for a long time. I had such a moment this last week when visiting a local elementary school to experience the p…
December 13, 2021
Reimagining Opportunities for Struggling Readers of All Ages Through the Strauss Literacy Initiative
Editor’s Note: In-depth research and exploratory pilot programs are guiding the Strauss Literacy Initiative, a collaborative effort managed by the Community Foundation of Sarasota County…
October 14, 2021
From Identification to Success: Supporting Students with Learning Differences at St. Mary Academy
Editor’s Note: In-depth research and exploratory pilot programs are helping develop the Strauss Literacy Initiative, a collaborative effort managed by the Community Foundation of Sarasot…
August 8, 2021
A Legacy of Literary and Learning Support Lives On
Growing up, Patricia “Patti” Strauss found reading and writing uniquely challenging, yet for most of her life could never pinpoint why. After years of searching for answers with lo…
August 6, 2021
Community Foundation of Sarasota County and Local Partners Collaborate to Support Student Literacy and Teacher Professional Development to Inform Intervention Strategies, Help Predict Dyslexia
Through the Strauss Literacy Initiative, families, teachers, and partners are reimagining opportunities for struggling readers at all ages to uncover many often undiagnosed with this learning…