• Michigan Literacy Project Application and Important Dates
• Support the Michigan Literacy Project
• About the Michigan Literacy Project
• Contact Us

• Are you a Grand Valley COE graduate?
• Have you been teaching 3 years or less in a non-chartered public school in Michigan?
• Are you teaching in a general education elementary classroom (K-5)?
• Are you teaching in an under-served district with limited resources?
• Are you in need of quality children’s literature for your classroom?
• Do you have a clear vision for how these books could be utilized to foster a love of literature in your own classroom?

If you answered, “YES” to all six questions, you are eligible to apply for a classroom library book grant provided by the Grand Valley State University College of Education Michigan Literacy Project.  

To apply, visit https://www.gvsu.edu/coe/MLP and complete the short application. All applications will be reviewed by a team of GVSU faculty/staff. Qualified candidates will be chosen based on specific need and use criteria.

Click here to Apply Online
for the Michigan Literacy Project

Option 1: Click the following link to make a monetary donation to the book drive at: http://gvsu.edu/coe/bookdrive

Option 2: Donate Scholastic Book Club bonus points by contacting Scholastic Books at 1-877-BonusPoint (1-877-266-8776) and provide them with the following account details: Our Customer Number - 1803384690

All book donations will be distributed to 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year elementary teachers (K-6) who are graduates of Grand Valley State University, teaching in our underserved school districts in the greater Grand Rapids area. Teachers will apply for a GVSU COE Michigan Literacy Project and will be chosen based on a variety of criteria.

We are also looking for new or gently used books (especially K-5).

Thank you for your support in providing quality literature to our area schools!

The Michigan Literacy Project was developed by faculty and staff in the College of Education with the purpose of supporting our COE graduates as they begin their teaching careers.

Often when new teachers begin their careers, they are thrilled to be landing that first teaching position. They arrive with fresh ideas and new energy but soon find that despite their idealistic outlooks, their jobs come with a big empty classrooms and little or no funding available for some of the very basic tools to provide a quality education to their students.  Beginning a teaching career can be daunting in and of itself but when a new teacher is faced with paying for classroom basics, it can be simply overwhelming. We recognize the importance of the availability of quality, children’s literature in each classroom, yet it often takes new teachers several years of personal spending to develop a functional classroom library.  

The Grand Valley State University College of Education Michigan Literacy Project (MLP) was developed to address the needs of our recent graduates and their young students.  MLP’s mission is to provide quality classroom libraries to recent College of Education graduates teaching 3 years or less in a K-5 general education classroom in an underserved Michigan public school districts across the state.  

MLP’s goal is to provide rich and meaningful encounters with quality children’s literature that will encourage students' love of reading first.  Fostering joy and wonder for the written word will help children develop into adults who are curious and insightful and who will use that curiosity to expand their knowledge and passion for the betterment of society.

Research shows the more books children have ready access to, the better readers and life-long learners they will become. Regular exposure to quality children’s literature in multiple genres will foster a healthy love and respect for the written word and will lay the groundwork for bringing up Michigan’s next generation of forward-thinking, creative and skilled workers and entrepreneurs.

With the help of a $2,500 grant from The Meemic Foundation, the 2013-2014 Michigan Literacy Project pilot program provided classroom libraries to six Michigan classrooms.  Recently MLP received a $20,000 grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities of Outstate Michigan that will fund the purchase of 45 classroom libraries over a 3-year period.  College of Education graduates with elementary teaching certificates were notified of the grant opportunity. 15 classroom library grant winners were identified for the 2015-16 academic year.  This process will be repeated in 2016-17 and again 2017-18.

If you have questions about the Michigan Literacy Project, please contact:

• Megan Freudigmann
  (616) 331-6436 • freudigm@gvsu.edu

Michigan Literacy Project Coordinators:

• Sheryl Vlietstra: vlietssh@gvsu.edu
  Affiliate Professor, GVSU College of Education
• Megan Freudigmann: freudigm@gvsu.edu
  Affiliate Professor, GVSU College of Education
• Forrest Clift: cliftf@gvsu.edu
  Center for Educational Partnerships