The Literacy Engagement Action Project (LEAP) is a state-wide project to build literacy skills in K-12 students with a scalable, comprehensive program for teachers, students, and families across Virginia. As COVID-19 has negatively impacted K-12 learning, LEAP addresses the needs of families, children, and teachers by supporting educational recovery and community literacy growth through immediate family outreach, assessment and tutoring support for children, and teacher professional learning to ensure lasting change. As access to excellent instruction must be available to all students regardless of socioeconomic status or geographic location, LEAP includes side-by-side tutoring where trained adults work one-on-one or with pairs or students to provide intensive instructional support.
The primary goals for LEAP are as follows:
- Provide a website to centrally host literacy resources created during the project.
- Provide Virginia families with free access to literacy resources such as books, workshops, podcasts, webinars, and online tools.
- Serve Virginia children through outreach tutoring.
- Provide professional learning opportunities for Virginia teachers.
The Literacy Engagement Action Project (LEAP) is funded by a $1.83M grant from the United States Department of Education.
The contents of this website and materials within were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
The LEAP Team
Dr. Allison Ward Parsons – Project Director
Allison Ward Parsons is an Associate Professor at George Mason University and is affiliated with the Literacy, Elementary Education, and Early Childhood Education programs. She teaches courses in literacy methods, research, and coaching. Her research is focused on the development of effective literacy coaches and teachers, teachers’ instructional adaptations, students’ motivation to read, and vocabulary development. Her research appears in journals including Literacy Research and Instruction, Elementary School Journal, The Reading Teacher, Theory Into Practice, Journal of Educational Research, and Review of Educational Research. A former Title I kindergarten teacher, she strives to boost student literacy outcomes by supporting teachers’ literacy instruction through coaching and professional learning. She hosts the annual Mason Coaching Institute for Math and Literacy, which is an annual conference that increases professional learning opportunities for literacy specialists, coaches, and other school-based teacher leaders. Dr. Ward Parsons is the director of the Elizabeth G. Sturtevant, PhD Center for Literacy at George Mason University and the primary researcher on the Literacy Engagement Action Project (LEAP) dedicated to supporting literacy development and instruction in Virginia through a congressional earmark.
Tiffany Ngo – Research Project Manager
Tiffany Ngo is the Research Project Manager for the LEAP project. Before joining George Mason University, she obtained her Master’s in Psychology at Boston University and worked at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH). At BCH, she was the Clinical Research Specialist for a project on improving safety and communication in the hospital, with an emphasis on families with limited English proficiency. Additionally, she provided 1:1 executive functioning support with students in underserved communities. She is passionate about research that can better inform the design and implementation of community-based interventions that reduce inequity and increase accessibility of resources for underserved youth and marginalized communities through a trauma-informed and culturally competent lens.
Affiliated Faculty
Dr. Seth Parsons
Seth Parsons is a Professor in the College of Education and Human Development. He joined the faculty in the fall of 2008 and teaches courses in the Elementary Education, Literacy, and Research Methods program areas. His current projects include the following, which he conducts in close collaboration with colleagues and doctoral students: (a) a comprehensive research synthesis of motivation and engagement in reading and writing; (b) an investigation of elementary students’ motivation to read different genres; (c) the development and validation of an observation tool for capturing adaptive teaching; (d) the development and validation of an adaptive teaching inventory for teachers; and (e) a study of preservice teachers’ metacognition. Before beginning his doctoral studies, which he completed in May 2008, he was a classroom teacher in North Carolina. Dr. Parsons is co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research, the flagship journal of the Literacy Research Association. He is past president of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER) and the Greater Washington Reading Council (GWRC). He was a member of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education’s (AACTE) Clinical Practice Commission. Dr. Parsons and colleagues recently received AERA’s Review of Research Award (2019) for their review of adaptive teaching that was published in Review of Educational Research. In 2018, he and his colleagues received the ATE Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award for their longitudinal study of teachers’ visions, which was published in Teaching and Teacher Education. He was previously selected as a 2014-2015 Emerging Leader by Phi Delta Kappa International and a 2015 Clinical Practice Fellow by the Association of Teacher Educators. In 2016, Dr. Parsons was recognized by George Mason University as a Teacher of Distinction, and in 2012, he received the Jerry Johns Promising Researcher Award from ALER. His contributions to LEAP include teacher professional development.
Dr. Jennifer Drake Patrick
Jennifer Drake Patrick is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University with over 20 years of experience working in K-12 and university settings. Jennifer currently serves in the role of Co-Academic Program Coordinator for the Literacy program, which includes outreach and building partnerships with local schools.
Jennifer teaches courses preparing teachers to become Literacy Specialists and Coaches as well as courses to prepare Secondary Education Pre-Service teachers. She also serves as a university facilitator in the Secondary Education program for field experiences and internships.
In addition to her work in Literacy, she serves on the George Mason Military, Veteran, and Family Initiative and leads the School of Education’s Operation Educate the Educator Initiative.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2009.
Her contributions to the project include teacher professional development and secondary-level content creation.
Dr. Ann Harrington
Dr. Ann Harrington is an adjunct faculty member in the Elementary Education program at George Mason University. Prior to her work at George Mason, she served on the faculty at NC State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a former elementary school classroom teacher, reading specialist, and English as a Second Language teacher. She earned her Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Georgia, her M.Ed. in Reading Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her BA in Early Childhood Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Research Assistants
Dai Gu
Dai Gu is a doctoral student in multilingual/multicultural education and learning technology. She comes from China and worked as a part-time EFL teacher for about four years. As a Graduate Research Assistant in the LEAP project, she mainly works on sourcing/creating curriculum materials. Her research interests include innovative technology in the instruction and assessment of multilingual learners, quantitative methodology, translanguaging, and new literacy.
Dr. Courtney Hayes
Dr. Courtney Hayes earned her PhD at George Mason University with specializations in Literacy(ies), Culture, and Reading, as well as International Education. Her research focuses on the power of multicultural children’s literature to foster equitable classrooms, particularly in early childhood. She is a former Mason alumna, earning her M.Ed. in Literacy Leadership for Diverse Schools. Prior to her doctoral work at Mason, she served as a teacher, reading specialist, and program coordinator both locally in Alexandria, Virginia, and internationally in Madrid, Spain. She received her B.S. in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. Courtney’s contributions to the LEAP project include the creation of professional development modules for families, teachers, and tutors, as well as the curation of book lists to support student literacy learning and engagement.
Hanwool Heo
Hanwool Heo is a doctoral student at George Mason University studying Literacy, Culture, and Reading. After earning her master’s degree in TESOL at the University of Pennsylvania, she taught English to elementary students at public schools in Korea, China, Singapore, and the U.S., and mentored pre-service English teachers. She is very interested in literacy curriculum development and teacher education, and this motivated her to participate in LEAP project as a Graduate Research Assistant. She has been developing training modules for tutors and teachers in this project.
Dr. Matthew Korona
Dr. Matthew Korona is a Research Assistant on the LEAP Project. He earned his Ph.D. from George Mason University specializing in Literacy(ies), Culture, and Reading as well as Designing Digital Learning in Schools. His research interests include Digital and Media Literacy, Disciplinary Literacy, and Teacher Professional Development. Additionally, he works as an Instructional Facilitator, Technology for Loudoun County Public Schools. Previously, he taught middle school language arts in Prince William County Public Schools for eight years. He received his B.S.Ed in Secondary Education and B.A. in Communication Studies from California University of Pennsylvania and Masters of Education from the University of Pittsburgh. His contributions to LEAP include developing and maintaining the LEAP website, assisting with developing online professional learning modules for teachers, and data collection.
Dr. Lilly LePelch
Lilly LePelch is an adjunct professor at George Mason University in the College of Education and Human Development in the Elementary and Secondary Education programs. She teaches courses related to literacy research, teaching culturally and linguistically diverse learners, bilingual and language acquisition research, and consultation/collaboration in educational settings. Dr. LePelch is also a Research Assistant and Project member of the LEAP program as well as an affiliate of the Sturtevant Ph.D. Center for Literacy. Her contributions to the LEAP program include the design of the literacy framework and reading content for MS and HS students.
Dr. LePelch earned her Ph.D. degree from GMU specializing in Literacy and International Education. She is passionate about the education of culturally and linguistically diverse learners focusing on research of intercultural practices that celebrate human diversity in education. Her experience includes 25+ years of teaching in Perú and the US, training indigenous Ixil-speaking educators in rural Guatemala, and visiting schools in Oslo, Norway. This correlates with her research interests and projects, which include Research Methodologies, Critical Literacy, Bilingual/Multilingual Learners Education, Exemplary Educators Working with Immigrant Youth, and Intercultural Competence. In addition to her work at GMU, she serves as a world languages department chair at a public high school in Northern Virginia.
Maribel Tohara Nakamatsu
Maribel Tohara Nakamatsu is a Graduate Research Assistant on the LEAP project and is from Lima, Peru. After teaching English in Pre-K and Kindergarten for almost 10 years, she came to North Carolina to teach Spanish in Second Grade in a Dual Language Immersion Program for 5 years. She has studies in TESOL, Family Counseling and Learning Disabilities and is currently working on her PhD in Multicultural and Multilingual Education. In the LEAP project, she is working on developing reading lessons and translating materials to Spanish, which is her native language.
Megan Sharkey
Megan Sharkey is a doctoral student at George Mason University focusing on Educational Psychology. Her research interests include the impact of COVID-19 on early childhood education, children, teachers, and families; social-emotional learning and trauma-informed teaching; teacher burnout; and systems thinking. She is also a full-time early childhood and special education educator with 17 years of experience teaching in public, private, and charter schools in urban and suburban communities. Megan is supporting the LEAP project by developing lesson plans.
Marion Taousakis
Marion Taousakis, MEd, is a doctoral candidate at George Mason University with dual specializations in Teacher Education and Literacy. Marion is interested in the development of preservice teachers, school-university partnerships, mentoring, and teacher identity development. Marion is a former high school English teacher and curriculum writer. She earned her M.Ed. in Secondary English Education at Marymount University and her BA in English from the University of Georgia. Marion’s contributions as a Graduate Research Assistant to the LEAP project include the development of secondary level content and resources.