Literacy Screeners for Alaska Indigenous Languages (LSAIL)

Literacy Screeners for Alaska Indigenous Languages (LSAIL)

The Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) has contracted with the University of Oregon (UO) Center on Teaching and Learning (CTL) to develop early literacy screening tools for Kindergarten through Grade 5 in up to ten Alaska Native languages (ANL) over five years. These literacy screeners will align with the Alaska Reads Act in up to ten Alaska Native Languages for K-5. This project will also document the development and validation process, document the psychometric properties of the screeners, and develop a web-based online tool for further literacy screener development for additional Alaska Native Languages. The five-year timeline is two years of development one year of validation for each language and one to two years for dissemination of results and the online tool.

This project is presently in the development and validation phase for three languages that have established immersion programs: Iñupiaq, Tlingit, and Yugtun. We will soon begin the process of selecting up to two additional Alaska Native Languages (ANL). A Request for Proposals (RFP) is currently open with the University of Oregon, inviting submissions from potential language groups. The goal is to select these languages and initiate the development process by the end of the second project year. In the third project year, we plan to identify an additional two ANL to commence development work that same year. The objectives for these new languages will align with those established for the initial three languages.

Check out LSAIL web site.