AVONDALE, AZ – Principal Geovanni Orozco and Lattie Coor School’s Literacy Hub, in the Avondale Elementary School District, was the sole featured program at the Valley of the Sun United Way’s Annual We Are United Breakfast held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. Nearly 600 corporate sponsors, community leaders, educators, and supporters gathered to celebrate the school’s award-winning Literacy Hub program and its significant impact on childhood literacy in the Phoenix area.
Valley of the Sun United Way’s MC2026 plan for Mighty Change plan identifies education as a key impact area, with a specific goal of closing opportunity gaps to ensure children can read at grade level by third grade. Lattie Coor School’s Literacy Hub exemplifies this mission through its innovative approach to literacy development.
Literacy Hubs are community-based spaces designed to close the literacy gap by providing students and families with critical reading support, tutoring, and engagement opportunities for children from birth to third grade. These hubs offer personalized literacy support and help build a lifelong love of reading among participating children and a multi-generational approach that also supports their families.
Literacy Hub activities include storytelling, literacy nights, book give-aways, access to digital learning tools, and parent training. Through these diverse offerings, the program creates a comprehensive approach to literacy development that engages both children and their families.
The program has demonstrated measurable success, with children who participate in a Literacy Hub achieving higher benchmark success (83%) compared to the rate of success among their peers who did not participate (77%).
“The Literacy Hub model proves that when we provide children and families with the right resources and support, we can make significant strides in closing the literacy gap,” said Dr. Betsy Hargrove, Avondale ESD’s Superintendent. “Lattie Coor School’s program serves as an inspiring example of what we can achieve when communities come together to support early childhood education.”
Lattie Coor’s Literacy Hub recently received a 2025 Gold Bell Promise Award from the Arizona School Boards Association.
For media inquiries, please contact Linda Jeffries, Director of Communications and Public Relations, media@chooseAESD.org, 623-772-5029.
