UT Tyler Seeking Participants for Parent-Powered Literacy Project

August 13, 2025 | Hannah Buchanan

The University of Texas at Tyler is seeking participants for the 2025-26 Parent-Powered Literacy Project, which aims to promote early childhood literacy in East Texas.

Conducted this year in partnership with Chapel Hill Independent School District, Longview Independent School District and the UT Tyler K-16 Literacy Center, the initiative is designed to enhance parent capacity for nurturing early language and literacy development in children from birth to age four.

“Neuroscience research highlights the critical role of early brain development, especially during infancy and early childhood,” said project director Dr. Kouider Mokhtari, UT Tyler Anderson- Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor and center director. “Enriched environments, quality caregiving and educational stimulation significantly impact young children's developmental learning outcomes.”

The program is offered at no cost to the first 50 participants who register by Monday, Sept. 3, and participants will remain involved through May 2026. It began in 2019 and is the brainchild of Mokhtari, with CHISD being the first community school partner.

“We are thrilled to partner with The University of Texas at Tyler on the Parent-Powered Literacy Project,” said Lamond Dean, Chapel Hill ISD superintendent. “This aligns with our mission to engage, educate and empower families, the community and school staff with resources and partnerships that support the academic and personal growth of all students.”

Involved families will receive various benefits, including parent education to enhance skills in supporting early language and literacy development at home, a start-up literacy resource kit with tools for early literacy activities, a monthly children’s book to encourage reading, ongoing support to boost children's literacy skills and access to early learning resources.

“This project empowers parents by equipping them with the tools to enrich early language and literacy environments at home, thus preparing their children for school readiness,” said Dr. Jacqueline Burnett, director of early childhood and K-12 parent engagement at Longview ISD.

To register or for more information, contact UT Tyler project coordinator Dr. Leann Nash at lnash@uttyler.edu or 903.566.7016, or Mokhtari at kmokhtari@uttyler.edu or 903.566.7177.

The K-16 Literacy Center is an educational unit operated within the School of Education by the UT Tyler College of Education and Psychology. Its core purpose is focused on strengthening literacyinstruction and improving academic achievement outcomes of K-16 students at the university, school and community levels. To learn more, visit uttyler.edu.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.