In July, IMSE celebrated 30 years of working alongside districts, schools, teachers, and literacy advocates to change the story of literacy. In that time, IMSE has partnered with over 11,000 districts, trained more than 450,000 teachers, and helped impact an estimated 54 million students nationwide. That incredible scope of impact is possible because a growing network of nonprofit partners, who share our mission of ensuring every child learns to read, and who have carried that mission into communities and classrooms that might otherwise be out of reach. We couldn’t have done this alone. 

As IMSE celebrates three decades of Structured Literacy instruction grounded in the science of reading, it’s an opportune moment to thank the nonprofit organizations that enhance, inform, and encourage our progress. IMSE is honored to have built relationships with organizations across the country that champion literacy through collaboration, advocacy and direct support.  Through their own nonprofit missions, these partners work tirelessly to help ensure every child has access to the tools and instruction they need to become a confident reader. They are an essential part of changing literacy’s story, and we are deeply grateful for their contributions.

Here’s a look at six organizations helping us transform literacy outcomes, literacy stories, and human lives.

 

Raising Hands Literacy Project

Highland Park, New Jersey

Founded by Holly Turner, M.Ed., Raising Hands Literacy Project is one of IMSE’s longest-standing nonprofit partnerships, dating back to 2020. The organization equalizes access to reading instruction by certifying local K-3 teachers in Orton-Gillingham at no cost, then channeling that learning directly into free, individualized tutoring for low-income, at-risk students who need intensive reading intervention.

Together, IMSE and Raising Hands have contributed more than $161,000 since their partnership began, expanding access to high-quality intervention services for students in need.

 

Decoding Dyslexia Idaho

Idaho

Decoding Dyslexia Idaho (founded by Robin Zikmund, Dyslexia Advocate and Community Engagement Manager at IMSE) has partnered with IMSE since 2022. The organization is dedicated to raising awareness and funding effective teacher training to improve outcomes for students with dyslexia. 

Through this partnership, more than 300 teachers across Idaho have learned to apply IMSE’s proven curriculum in evidence-based literacy instruction, extending high-quality reading instruction to every corner of the state.

 

Dyslexic Edge

Annandale, Virginia

Krista Gauthier founded Dyslexic Edge in 2016, three years after her child’s reading struggles began sent her searching for answers. What she found shaped the organization’s mission: students with dyslexia often show real strength in STEM fields, but without the right literacy support and access, that strength can go unexpressed.

Dyslexic Edge addresses the gap directly, pairing IMSE’s Orton-Gillingham Plus curriculum and professional learning with STEM enrichment for elementary students in Title I schools across the Washington, D.C. area. Since 2016, the organization has served more than 250 students, and no formal dyslexia diagnosis is required to participate (a deliberate choice, since Gauthier’s own child waited until fifth grade for a diagnosis).

IMSE has partnered with Dyslexic Edge since March 2023 to give its tutors detailed, practical knowledge of Structured Literacy. The partnership has resulted in more than $150,000 of contributions to date, supporting both organizations’ push to help students build reading skills alongside their existing strengths.

 

Right To Read

Houston, Texas

Founded by Tenesha Smith, Right To Read is committed to ensuring every child has equitable access to literacy instruction and resources. IMSE’s journey with the organization began in June 2025, and in just over a year we have watched Right To Read make several meaningful strides supporting struggling readers in the Houston community and beyond.

Through this partnership, 13 teachers are on the pathway to becoming Structured Literacy practitioners and specialists, equipping their individual communities with lasting, evidence-based instruction.  A testament to how quickly progress can accelerate when a partnership is strong.

 

READy to R.E.A.D. (Readers: Engage, Advance, and Develop)

Nashville, Indiana

Cassie Stratton founded READy to R.E.A.D. on the belief that every child deserves access to high-quality literacy support, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. The nonprofit provides free, evidence-based Structured Literacy instruction through after-school programming, school-based support, educator coaching, and professional development. Since starting with just two students in 2021, READy to R.E.A.D. has grown to serve more than 170 students.

IMSE has donated $3,400 to support this mission, and we look forward to building on this early momentum.

 

Porto Charities

Fairfax, Virginia

Porto Charities and the Porto Center for Learning & Leadership became an IMSE partner in March 2026 through a first-of-its-kind collaboration supporting Catholic schools in the Diocese of Arlington. Porto Charities advocates for the expansion in enrollment of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Catholic schools and supports teacher and leadership training initiatives in order to best serve those students.

Unlike many nonprofit partnerships, which often center on tutors working outside the regular school day, Porto Charities gives classroom teachers themselves direct access to IMSE professional learning courses, extending Structured Literacy instruction directly into private school classrooms.

It’s an early-stage partnership, but one that reflects something IMSE has learned again and again over 30 years: there’s always a new door to open, and a new group of students waiting on the other side of it.

 

Rising Together


Six organizations, six founders, six states. What connects them all is a shared belief that literacy progress requires working together and drawing on reservoirs of expert knowledge. The challenge is too large, too complex, for any one organization to address alone.

IMSE’s 30th anniversary reminds us of all the collaboration we’ve accomplished over the years, and inspires us to imagine partnerships yet to come.  When we move in the same direction with our nonprofit allies, district leaders, teachers, tutors, and coaches, the outcomes are always extraordinary.

Thirty years in, IMSE’s commitment hasn’t changed: every child, regardless of zip code or background, deserves a story in which they read confidently and reach their full potential. With partners like these standing alongside IMSE, that commitment keeps finding new ways to reach the students who need it most.

 


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