Miami University

Redhawk Innovations
Oxford, Ohio
17 April 2017

To whom this may concern:

Redhawk Innovations will be an after-school and weekend non-profit organization

dedicated to developing early childhood literacy and comprehension skills in the Dayton area.
Studies have shown that literacy in the United States is on the decline, however it is also a major
topic change among many citizens. This organization will help solve the literacy issues by
targeting developing students in hopes of providing for a better tomorrow. Instructors for this
program will be mostly volunteers who have a passion for promoting literary growth among
younger children.

The majority of volunteers will be Dayton and Miami University students, however all
positions are open to the public. Collegiate level students are encouraged because the simplicity
of the program will be easy grasp for them and children will be able to identify better with a
young adult versus a grown up. In addition to that, college students will have a greater familiarity
with new techniques for incentivising children to complete tasks. Nonetheless, volunteers are
only required to be energetic, competent, and passionate due to the nature of the work.
Professionals in literary fields are also highly encouraged for their expertise.

The success of Redhawk Innovations depends heavily on the eagerness of the public to
participate in program. Without volunteers, the organization and thus the students will eventually
suffer due to lack of instructors. Obviously without instructors there can be no progress. To
promote involvement in the program, Redhawk Innovations proposes that many of the volunteers
come from the Mason/Dayton area. Since the program directly affects their area, this
organization hopes that volunteers will be willing to contribute in a positive way.

In addition to a need for volunteers, Redhawk Innovations hopes to receive aid from
reading software developers and local libraries to provide means of incentive to children. Since
many grade school children have a hard time focusing on a given task for long periods of time, it
is surmised that fun programs would help to aid in their development. These programs would
ensure focus among students and reason to work towards completion. Redhawk Innovations
would ask local distributors to donate to or organization to help reach this goal.

Redhawk Innovations believes that it will be a driving force for change in the Dayton
area. With support from the community, this project can shape tomorrow by bettering lives today.
It is hoped that you review this proposal and approach Redhawk Innovations with questions,
comments, or concerns. Thank for your consideration.
 Sincerely,
Redhawk Innovations

Executive Summary:

Redhawk Innovations is an Oxford, Ohio based team of scholars devoted to bettering the
world around them. Their latest nonprofit initiative, Redhawks for the Arts (RftA), is centered
around childhood literacy in the Dayton, Ohio area. Despite the efforts of many well-meaning
individuals and organizations, literacy in the United States has not significantly improved in the
past few decades, even as modern Western society requires increasingly advanced literacy skills
for people to be effective in the work force.

With multiple non-profits in the area already catering to adult literacy needs, RftA means
to address childhood literacy issues. Comparing the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and the
2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy (the two most recent comprehensive studies of
American literacy), the average literacy levels of American high schoolers has declined, and high
schoolers test at below basic and basic levels of literacy at worryingly high rates, with over
high of high schoolers testing into these categories in prose and quantitative literacy (National
Center for Education Statistics). RftA believes that addressing literacy issues at this stage in life
will ease the load on adult-focused literacy centers, and will better prepare these children and
young adults for the demands of the modern world.

Project READ, a family-focused literacy nonprofit in the area, uses traditional methods of
tutoring and book drives to supplement education children and young adults. RftA believes that
this approach can work in some cases, but that education through edutainment is more enjoyable
and effective approach. Many of the current members of RftA grew up and strengthened their
own literacy skills through edutainment, and wish to construct a literacy improvement initiative
based on this educational tool.

Introduction:

While the studies are getting old, the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey and the 2003
National Assessment of Adult Literacy suggest that the national literacy rate is not improving
(and if anything, is gradually getting worse). According to the 2003 Assessment, only 13% of
adults have a proficient reading level, and 14% have not attained even a basic literacy
proficiency in prose--with the percentages of below basic proficiencies at a barely better 12%
for documents and a far worse 22% for quantitative literacy. Students in high school tested along
these lines, with below basic literacy rates of 14% in prose, 13% in documents, and 31% in
quantitative areas. Considering that a basic level of literacy indicates only an ability to identify
particular pieces of information in a text for prose and document literacy, and the ability to solve
single-step equations for quantitative literacy, these numbers are particularly troubling (National
Center for Education Statistics).

Redhawk Innovations wishes to begin its RftA initiative in Dayton due to the proximity
of the city and the education issues the city is dealing with. Dayton is only an hour away from
Miami University, the home of Redhawk Innovations and many of the potential volunteers.
Many students at Miami have access to cars for transportation, and are in the age range to have
had the most exposure to edutainment. Dayton itself also falls below the national average in
terms of education. While nearby city Cincinnati has 14 different high schools nationally ranked
in the US News & World Report, Dayton only has three before reaching unranked schools (US
News & World Report). While rankings are certainly not everything, and only reflect one source,
Dayton notably has a lower percentage of high school and college graduates than the national
average: only 82.1% of Dayton residents over the age of 25 graduated high school, with a mere
17.3% having attained a bachelors degree or higher--as opposed to the national averages of
86.7% and 29.8%, respectively (US Census Bureau).

The Dayton area already has two organizations devoted to literacy support: the Brunner
Literacy Center for adults, and Project READ for people of all ages. The Redhawks for the Arts
initiative differs from the Brunner Center in its targeted audience--while adult literacy support is
extremely valuable, RftA means to work with school-aged children and teenagers to solve
childhood literacy issues while the audiences minds still have the plasticity to make significant
progress in their reading abilities. Project READ is closer in its goals, but again, RftA means to
focus specifically on school-aged residents of the Dayton area, and RftA differs in its
methodology. Project READ focuses on providing books to children and classes, whereas RftA
plans to specialize in edutainment. It is markedly different approach, to be sure, but members of
the Redhawk Innovations board remember edutainment fondly, with a survey of college student
peers similarly giving positive reactions.

Edutainment is still a relatively new field, with software such as LeapFrog, Carmen
Sandiego, JumpStart, and Zoombinis only enjoying a short heyday around the turn of the
millennium before being essentially abandoned. Though skepticism does exist about the efficacy
of edutainment, this is largely due to the new nature of the field, and there is research supporting
the principles being edutainment. As described by Richard Van Eck in his 2006 article Digital
Game-Based Learning: Its Not Just the Digital Natives Who Are Restless, providing lessons
through games is a studied process known as situated cognition, and learning that occurs in
meaningful and relevant contexts is more effective than learning that occurs outside of these
contexts, as is the case of most formal instruction(Van Eck 18). RftA wishes to engage this
situated cognition through digital, tabletop, and other games--rewarding participants through
incentive programs with local businesses.
 A survey among peers at Miami University revealed widespread support for edutainment
as a tool for teaching literacy. While this survey was limited in scope and in demographics, it
also revealed that an overwhelming majority of these students would also wish to volunteer with
Redhawks for the Arts. While RftA would ideally hire volunteers and staff from the Dayton area
as efforts scale up and RftA settles into the community, Miami University students would be able
to provide immediate support.

Plan:

Phase 1: Asset Accumulation

Find willing partners in local community whose businesses consumer base is

children.
Pizza Hut, Chucky Cheese, various toy/children learning aid
outlets, local theaters, and libraries.
Work with toy/technology warehouse distributors to get the lowest group rate on
needed goods and technology.
Leapfrog, hard copy books, tablets, Read with me scout animal,
The Sparkup Magical Book Reader, Leapreader, XO Learning Tablet, Disney
Creativity Studio and Smart Stylus, digital apps designed to be game like, mass-
produced small toys that can be used as rewards

Phase 2: Set Defined Framework

This phase is meant to clearly define the various aspects that will need to be addressed in
technology, learning programs, and volunteer training. This also enables a clear framework in
which volunteers can refer to and work within, giving the overall process a clear uniformity and
consistency in execution of set tasks.

Activities developed during this period will accomplish several of the following tasks:

Phonemic Awareness Instruction

Teaches children to break down words into their individual sounds, and how to
blend them together to form words.
Phonics Instruction
 Instructs children on the relationship between letters and the sounds they
represent.
Fluency Instruction
Work on the speed, accuracy, and proper enunciation of words.
Vocabulary Instruction
Increase a childs avaliable lexicon
Text Comprehension Instruction
Help students develop skills and strategies needed to be a successful reader.
Learning Disabilities Instruction
This program though mainly focused on those disabilities directly related to
learning i.e. dyslexia and other related condition; however, any behavioural or
developmental disability in an attempt to increase literacy in every demographic
will be addressed.

Potential types of activities can include word hunts, Dungeons and Dragons modules
(and/or alternative tabletop games, depending on parental feedback), Jeopardy-style games, and
other play-scenarios.

Phase 3: Initiate Program

Logistical and Overhead Management

This includes acquiring of facilities in which to hold activities, as well as,
administrative work. As well as budgeting monthly expenses, i.e. bills, salary,
marketing.
Full-time hiring
Volunteer Coordination
Purchasing and Maintaining of Equipment and Digital Licences
Marketing and Web Presence
Begin Weekly Learning Sessions

Phase 4: Evaluate & Re-Initiate

This program is ever evolving, by constantly self-checking and evaluating then the
program can evolve to meet the needs of the children. Through parent, volunteer and full time
professionals observations, in conjunction with surveys given to children and their parents, the
program will be able to tailor the experience to the childrens needs. This will include continuing
to review and stay uptodate on technology and learning techniques available that could be
integrated in the future.
Benefits:

Having basic literacy skills is a right given to every person living on Earth and everyone
is supposed to have an access to an education. Even with this in place, there are many people
who still have difficulty in reading and writing. Illiteracy only leads a lower quality in life and
diminished self-worth, phenomena which Redhawk for the Arts intends on changing. There is no
limit to the benefits that come with being literate but some of the areas improved are a higher
self-esteem, a feeling of empowerment, a higher education, more political participation and
many cultural benefits. In example, The Education for All Global Monitoring Report, shows
literacy improved the lives of rural women in El Salvador when they participated in literacy
programmes. It was found that these women were more vocal in community meetings, in
addition, some were eve able to engage in socio-political analysis (UNESCO 2006).

Becoming literate in todays society seems to be fundamental, however, there are many
people that are not literate. Two benefits that can come from being literate are an increase in self-
esteem and a sense of empowerment. From the Education for All Global Monitoring Report,
improved self-esteem studies reported behavior changes in literacy changes. Having a sense
of empowerment from literacy can also correlate with an increase in political participation. When
a person becomes literate, it is shown that they tend to be more willing to participate in local
government. A study that was taken place in Brazil that set up a literacy program for workers of a
company noticed an increase in total amount of activity in union participation [Ireland, 1994].
These examples show that higher self-esteem and a sense of empowerment can also lead people
to strive for higher education. Achieving a higher level of education is directly correlated with an
increase in political actively. Through more involvement in the local government, more and more
people will be better suited to make more informed decisions when it comes to voting for
specific policies.

Thus an expansion in education can lead to an expansion of democracy since more people
are able to make educated decisions based on how they believe a government should be ran to
best suit their interests. A study that was done in many countries with 17 to 19 year old students
discovered that, if the students knew more about democratic institutions, the more likely they
were on voting when they came of age [IEA]. Having a large number of people making educated
decisions when voting helps stop people from being manipulated into voting against their own
self-interests.

The last benefit from being literate is the cultural benefits and the impact it has on
society. Being able to read and write allows more people to take part in written literature such as
books, poems, etc. An increase in culture helps unify a group of people and gives them a better
sense of identity. It can also lead to a cultural change. Literacy can help spread values of equality,
inclusion, and respect for cultural diversity [Mezirow, 1996].
Budget:
Goal: 1 Million Dollar start up capital

This organization like many non-profit, social outreach programs will rely on the
generosity of the public to stay open. Keeping this in mind Redhawk Innovations will have to
constantly be in fundraising mode. Through teaming up with Federal, State, and Local
governments will acquire the subsidies that will cover basic running costs. The majority of funds
required to provide equipment, personnel, and facilities will, however, come from fundraising in
the private sector.

Through generous benefactors it will enable the program to stay operational indefinitely,
to achieve this the marketing must be targeted towards the private donor demographic.
Therefore, it is key to design and implement incentive programs. The level of incentive will be
dependant on how large of a donation a benefactor wishes to contribute. To show appropriate
thanks to supporters, their name will appear on a appreciation page on the charity's website. For
those willing to donate a medium sum of money there will be physical plaques displayed in
learning facilities, as well as, a sponsored child who will send some of their work with a letter of
thanks to the benefactor. For those who are extremely generous with their donations, then on-site
visits will be scheduled. During these visits a thank you day or banquet dinners will be held
where donors can be recognized by staff and the children. Along with other dedications, those
who are high end donors will have the chance to come in and read, or, help teach the children.

As a non-profit, organization overhead will be reduced due to lack of taxes. However this
does not cover actual running costs. Many variables have to be taken into consideration when
planning a monetary budget for this type of endeavor. This includes but is not limited to:
compensation of full-time professionals, rental space acquisition, utility costs, insurance and
other fixed expenditures. For this reason, Redhawk Innovations requests that an amount of $1
million dollars for start up be donated. Costs of this endeavor would decrease over time due to a
reduced need to acquire certain pieces of capital.

Schedule:

The schedule for this organization is centered around acquiring the funding necessary to
make the organization feasible, which will center on private fundraising and government
subsidies. This period of time is crucial to the overall creation of the organization therefore a
larger window is needed to go to as many sources of donations as possible.
 After the acquisition of funds and technology has been achieved, then the project can
move onto the next phase of the project. The second phase is geared towards creating a program
that will help engage the children in a fun and exciting way. This phase must take care in meeting
the requirements of the program itself and being beneficial to the childrens educational process.
With that being said, the timetable has allowed for 4 weeks to develop a well thought out plan of
integrating games to help the children learn in an exciting way.

The last phase will focus on initiating the program. This phase will take time considering
the process of finding the proper facility and hiring a staff that will help the children learn in a
positive way. This is also the phase where marketing and sessions of learning will begin. During
this period steps will be taken to ensure that the program is running at an optimal level. The time
allotted for this phase is 6 weeks, this should give ample time to ensure that all the tasks laid out
in phase 3 of the plan are enacted properly.

Phase 1:
Acquiring assets to donate to donate to the organization ( 1-3 weeks)
Find Technology and various paths for education (1-3 weeks)
Create the program and activities, Since the goal is to provide education through
games acquiring various games is essential (1 week)

Phase 2:
Program is created at an in depth level(4 weeks depending on how difficult the
integration to games is)
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, Text comprehension,
Learning disabilities

Phase 3:
Program Initiated( 4-6 weeks)
Begin normal operational status

Works Cited:
UNESCO. Why Literacy Matters. Education for All Global Monitoring Report, UNESCO,
2006, pp. 135-145.
Gaillard, Delphine. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006: Literacy for Life. Ed. Sylvaine
Baeyens. Paris: UNESCO, 2005. Electronic.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). [Table comparing literacy statistics in 1992 and
2003]. Literacy Skills of Adults, by Type of Literacy, Proficiency Levels, and Selected
Characteristics: 1992 and 2003. Retrieved from
https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d15/tables/dt15_507.10.asp.
US Census Bureau. (2015). [Table comparing demographics of Dayton against national
demographics]. Quickfacts: Dayton City, Ohio. Retrieved from
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045216/3921000,00.
US News & World Report. (2014). Best High Schools: Rankings. US News & World Report.
Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/search?city-or-
zip=dayton&state-urlname=ohio.
Van Eck, Richard. (2006). Digital Game Based Learning: Its Not Just the Digital Natives Who
Are Restless. EDUcause Review, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 16-30.

Appendices:

Combating Literacy Survey - Feasibility Survey:

Link to survey: https://docs.google.com/a/miamioh.edu/forms/d/11RdyFtNjLz5nlk9UNgvP-

rPbIHAEEaDJuwxyq8BSnaE/edit

Pictures of survey: