Successful adoption, implementation, improvement, and scale of the Duke Endowment’s promising practice, the Rural Church Summer Literacy Program, holds the promise to combat learning loss in rural communities throughout North Carolina. As this initiative continues to grow to all rural counties in North Carolina, there is a need for an intermediary organization to provide dynamic, collaborative, and responsive support ultimately contributing to the impact and sustainability of the summer literacy program. This 2-year project aims to provide both programmatic and implementation support to more than 20 rural community sites anchored in United Methodist churches in North Carolina.

Site-based supports provided by the project team will include workforce development for program staff; development of implementation structures, resources and abilities, and monitoring and evaluation of implementation progress and outcomes. Additionally, design and consultation support will be provided to broader initiative leadership and partners, which includes ongoing refinement and packaging of the program model, considerations for initiative expansion and onboarding new sites, and consultation for external evaluation activities.