Project Light
TM
Literacy For Life Transformation
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Branching out
After working extensively in inner cities in the U.S. and developing nations around the world, Project Light also discovered there was a vast need for high school equivalency education. Project Light formed a partnership with BLS, Inc., the developer of Tutorsystems GED software. Project Light became a distributor of Tutorsystems and began to establish Learning Centers that could assist individuals to prepare for their GED Exam. Tutorsystems is a program designed to move students from a fourth-grade entry reading level to GED competency in reading grammar and math - nine years of growth in as little as 200 hours. Many students who have dropped out of high school have successfully obtained their GED as a result of being tutored at a Project Light partner Learning Center on Tutorsystems software.
History Beginnings
Project Light was established nearly thirty six years ago by James Crawford, a businessman who believed he was called by God to serve the poor and the brokenhearted. While studying at the Graduate School of Communications at Regent University, Mr. Crawford became aware of the enormous number of people in the U.S. and around the world who were broken in their lives and in their faith because they were unable to read. Mr. Crawford also learned that not only was illiteracy a worldwide need, but there was a tremendous demand for English as a Second Language ("ESL").
Mr. Crawford, a man of faith and a passionate believer in the power of God's word to improve lives, felt called to address the needs of illiteracy and ESL he saw in the poor and brokenhearted. He believed if he could find and provide a user friendly teaching mechanism for reading and ESL, and a simple delivery system, he could empower others, especially the faith-based community, to serve illiterate and ESL needs all around the world.
After several years of research, Mr. Crawford discovered a comprehensive program to address illiteracy and ESL needs. This program was researched, developed, tested and validated by the School of Education at Columbia University for more than 35 years before being funded by the U.S. Department of Education for more widespread testing in 26 states, the District of Columbia, the Trust territories of the Pacific, and in Canada. No fewer than 40,000 teaching curricula were distributed to learning centers for further research and evaluation by the U.S. Department of Education resulting program, developed by a wide cross-section of educators, is designed to take non-readers to a fifth grade reading level within one year.
The result was the Project Light curriculum, Zero To Five™. Project Light obtained rights to the curriculum, and in turn, developed interactive software, tutor and student manuals. This Zero To Five software program has been successfully used for over three decades and has been recognized nationally and internationally around the world. Project Light's Zero To Five program is perhaps the most time-tested and proven literacy and ESL teaching software tool available today. The program has in-depth credentials and validation and is adaptable to the widest possible range of students including those from the normal learners to the illiterate adults, learning disabled, and non-English speaking students who desire to learn English as a Second Language.
Project Light today
Project Light deploys Zero To Five, Tutorsystems and Literacy for Life Transformation Series I and II programs around the world by partnering with other organizations to establish Learning Centers. The one-to-one teaching/tutoring method utilized by partner Project Light Learning Centers has proved highly successful in transforming lives. And, all it takes to be a successful tutor is someone who can read at a sixth-grade level or higher and a desire to help others. Project Light provides all the necessary training and tools.
But the real proof is in our successes and the numbers - not merely statistics, but transformed lives. Individuals, families and even tutors have had their lives transformed as a result of the Project Light programs.
Over its 35 year history, Project Light has established hundreds of Learning Centers and formed partnerships all over the globe. And our mission continues to expand as we offer our programs over the Internet allowing us to help more individuals than ever imaginable. If you would like to be part of this worldwide effort to help others in need, one person, one relationship, at a time, please contact us.
Project Light also developed curriculum that is known as the Literacy for Life Transformation Series Software I (Who God Says I Am) and II (Who God Is), that teaches the alphabet, each interactive software set teaches 250 words with images, 70 standalone words, including the 50 most common words in the English language and 26 scripture verses that are edifying to the student, which allow churches, ministries and missionaries to effectively use the program for evangelistic outreach. This software is standards of learning compliant and the lessons target early literacy areas evaluated by the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening program developed by the University of Virginia. Tutor manuals accompany the software and an ABC song to reinforce the lessons learned.