Theory of Change

We are inspired and anchored by Berkana Institute’s Two Loops Model.

Transformative Literacy Communities

At Sunnyside Literacy Lab, we are creating a multi-layered local response to the literacy crisis.

The school system is overburdened, and innovation often takes place in silos. Real change will require learning spaces that extend beyond the schoolhouse and loop back into it.

Our goal is to expand our concept of public education, not replace it.

At Sunnyside Literacy Lab, we have five commitments:

  • Partnering with existing high-integrity community-based organizations

  • Providing direct quality literacy services using research-based curricula

  • Developing and caring for in-service educators while paying equitable wages

  • Working hand-in-hand with caregivers

  • Supporting a culture of literacy at the neighborhood level

With these commitments guiding our daily practice, our long-term goal is to nurture a space where learners, educators, and caregivers can reflect on their experiences, improve outcomes within the current education system, and cultivate hope, relationships, and new approaches to education.

We prioritize hiring educators of color in Title I schools. We believe that developing educator-leaders who are embedded within the system will uplift and advance the educational ecosystem as a whole. We seek to provide a home base for our educators to receive care, coaching, and connections as they do the hard work at their school sites while tinkering on emerging literacy and educational solutions.

We measure impact by tracking our students' literacy growth and engaging our educators and caregivers in ongoing qualitative narrative documentation. Together, these approaches ensure accountability to the learners we serve while expanding the circumference of our ripple effect.

Our partnership with The Greenhouse, a collective of Queens-based social innovators stewarded by the Episcopal Mission of Sunnyside, supports our long-term vision of resourced experimentation, so educators and learners of all ages can flourish in diverse and unforeseen ways.