EDU 3540: Early Literacy Birth to 2nd Grade connects Elon teacher candidates with kindergarten through second grade students at Eastlawn Elementary through the It Takes a Village Project.
Through “EDU 3540: Early Literacy Birth to 2nd Grade”, Elon teacher candidates are beginning another semester of literacy tutoring at Eastlawn Elementary in partnership with the Village Project.
In the course, taught by Bronwyn Harris, assistant professor of education, students learn to teach and assess key literacy skills, such as phonological awareness, fluency and comprehension. They then apply these approaches while tutoring kindergarten through second grade students at Eastlawn Elementary, a Title I school identified by the state for additional support.
The course is intentionally designed so that theory and practice go hand in hand. Teacher candidates learn research-based literacy strategies in class and then implement them immediately in tutoring sessions. This structure allows students to develop confidence, refine their skills and see the impact of evidence-based instruction in real time.
The Village Project, founded in 2008, is a collaborative initiative between Elon and Alamance-Burlington School System that addresses community needs through literacy tutoring. While many Village volunteers come from a variety of campus organizations, the partnership with EDU 3540 is distinctive because tutoring is built directly into the course. Elon students develop detailed instructional guides for their tutoring sessions and gather books and materials to use with children. Throughout the semester, they also receive guidance and feedback from Harris, who attends tutoring sessions to provide real-time coaching.
For children in the program, the partnership provides targeted, small-group literacy support that complements the work of classroom teachers. For Elon students, it offers an authentic teaching experience that reinforces and deepens their coursework while preparing them to work effectively with children who bring a wide range of cultural, linguistic and learning needs.
Elon students from spring 2025 consistently pointed to the value of applying strategies from class in real-life contexts. One student reflected, “It helped me use the things I have been learning in class, applying them to my lessons and seeing how they look when they are actually being taught.”
Another Elon student from spring 2025 shared how the experience built confidence: “Participating in The Village tutoring boosted my confidence by giving me real experience applying literacy strategies. I saw how assessments guided my instruction and how students responded, which helped me trust my teaching and adjust in the moment.”
Past participants also acknowledged that tutoring revealed both challenges and insights. As one student explained, “We were able to see course content happen in real time and understand methods of how to teach literacy [equitably], including methods that do work and do not work.”
By combining academic study with hands-on tutoring, the course demonstrates the power of community-based learning. The Village Project provides Elon students with invaluable preparation for their future teaching careers while children and families benefit from the added literacy support, creating a truly reciprocal partnership.
This work is also strengthened by collaboration with Village Project staff. Laura Clemmons, Sydney Gilbert and Keely Platts have been instrumental in putting key changes into place, coordinating with classroom teachers and ensuring that Elon students are well supported as they apply coursework in tutoring sessions.
This semester’s tutoring is supported by a Community Partnerships Initiative Faculty Grant, which provides Elon teacher candidates and the children they tutor with the materials and resources needed for meaningful literacy instruction.
This work also reflects Elon’s broader mission outlined in the Boldly Elon strategic plan, which emphasizes community-based learning experiences that prepare students for meaningful careers while strengthening partnerships across the region. As the semester unfolds, the tutoring sessions will continue to strengthen both Elon students’ preparation as teachers and the literacy development of children in Alamance County classrooms.