Funded by an endowment from Des Moines businessman Richard O. Jacobson, UNI's Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy (JCCL) works with Iowa schools to improve literacy for all Iowa students. The goals of the Richard O. Jacobson Center for Comprehensive Literacy are:

• To close the achievement gap between diverse groups, while increasing literacy proficiency for all students
• To increase teachers' knowledge and instructional expertise through university supported professional development
• To support teachers' collaborative monitoring of student progress and instructional decision-making

In working towards these goals, the Center oversees three literacy-related projects:

• Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL)
• Reading Recovery Center of Iowa
• Literacy Education Professional Development School (LEPDS)

Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy.  UNI's Jacobson Center has joined with several other universities in the Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) initiative, led by Dr. Linda Dorn of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock. PCL focuses on the preparation of literacy coaches through intensive UNI coursework, observation of teaching demonstrations in model schools, and field-based "learn through doing" programming. PCL Literacy Coaches prepare over the course of a year as they take Center coursework that is grounded in a highly integrated examination of literacy learning and teaching, school transformation, and leadership. The Jacobson Center also provides ongoing support to schools and their coaches, administrators, and faculty for the duration of the school's relationship with the Center. Click here for more details on the PCL program. Click here for more information on PCL, including application materials. Click here for a printable brochure describing the Center's PCL program. 

Click here for application forms and more information on PCL.

Reading Recovery Center of Iowa.  The Reading Recovery Center of Iowa prepares Reading Recovery Teacher Leaders to train teachers as Reading Recovery teachers. Reading Recovery is a highly successful early intervention program that provides intensive one-on-one support for struggling first grade readers. To become a Teacher Leader, candidates take a year-long program that includes extensive integrated theoretical and clinical study, followed by a first year of actual training that is monitored and supported by Center faculty. Click here for more details on the Reading Recovery Center of Iowa.

Literacy Education Professional Development School. Professional development schools are partnerships between university-based teacher education programs and K-12 schools. UNI's LEPDS is a partnership with Lincoln Elementary School in Waterloo. Undergraduate UNI students with Elementary Education majors and Literacy Education minors may apply for membership in the program. Cohorts of students take a significant portion of their teacher education coursework (with a special focus on their Literacy Education program) at Lincoln, where UNI professors not only teach the courses but also collaborate closely with Lincoln faculty in providing field experiences for the students that are integrated with their coursework. Click here for more details on LEPDS.