Stritch Family Literacy Center

The Stritch Family Literacy Center—formerly known as the Cardinal Stritch Literacy Centers—has been a leader in literacy education for more than 80 years. We specialize in helping children from kindergarten through high school (K-12) reach their fullest potential as readers, writers, and learners.

Our certified literacy professionals and university faculty work one-on-one with students to build confidence, improve reading fluency, and foster a lifelong love of learning.

Learning to Read

For early readers, we strengthen key literacy skills—phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—through high-interest materials and guided reading strategies that support understanding at every step.

Reading to Learn

For more advanced readers, we focus on reading to learn—teaching students how to understand complex texts, study effectively, and read with purpose. Each lesson builds independence, motivation, and confidence in their ability to learn through reading.

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What Makes Us Different:

• A long-standing tradition of research-based literacy support
• Master Instructors with graduate degrees in literacy, education, or speech and language
• A warm, supportive environment where learning feels empowering and fun
• Individualized instruction tailored to each child’s strengths and needs

Personalized Literacy Assessment

Before instruction begins, our professional literacy team individually evaluates each child’s strengths, reading levels, and needs in literacy components including phonological awareness, decoding, spelling, fluency, comprehension, writing, and academic success skills using nationally recognized research-based tools.

You’ll receive a detailed report explaining your child’s reading strengths and areas for growth, along with a personalized plan for instruction.

Individualized Instruction

After the initial assessment, our professional team maps a learning plan to meet each student’s goals. Each lesson is tailored to your child’s specific learning profile and interests. Our certified Master Instructors deliver one-on-one lessons that are engaging, flexible, and continuously adapted based on progress.

Students receive targeted instruction in the following five key areas*:

• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

*As outlined by the National Reading Panel with specific integration of the Wisconsin State Standards for reading, writing, and critical thinking.

All curriculum is based on research-proven literacy strategies and engaged motivation, through inspiring reading self-confidence and independence. To promote success, we provide high interest material and careful monitoring of weekly and monthly progress.

Continuous Progress Monitoring

Progress doesn’t stop at the lesson. Our instructors track each student’s improvement week by week and communicate regularly with families. We also hold follow-up conferences and share progress reports to celebrate success and plan next steps.

Partnering with Families and Schools

At the Stritch Family Literacy Center, families are an essential part of every child’s learning journey.

We communicate with families weekly about progress, new reading goals, and ways to support learning at home. All records are confidential, but families may choose to share information with schools or invite our instructors to join school conferences.

We also offer flexible scheduling options to fit your family’s needs.

At Home: Families can help their children at any age by reading to them daily. Children should be encouraged to select books for read-alouds. Conversation about stories and information assists children in expressing ideas and forming opinions and lays the groundwork for vocabulary and language essential to continuin

Enrollment Process

Students are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, with preference given to students in grades K5–3rd grade.

Once an interest form is received, an application will be sent to the provided email address. For consideration in a future semester, please complete the interest form below.

Program Sessions

Summer Session: June 23 – July 30, 2026
Students will meet with a Master Instructor twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the length of the session (12 meetings over six weeks).

Summer session times listed below:

Day	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3	Session 4
Tuesday	9:30 – 11:00am	11:30 – 1:00pm	1:30 – 3:00pm	3:30 – 5:00pm
Thursday	9:30 – 11:00am	11:30 – 1:00pm	1:30 – 3:00pm	3:30 – 5:00pm

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Spring Session: Spring 2026 registration is now complete.
(Session Date: January 27 – May 7, 2026)
Students will meet once a week for the length of the semester. Days and session times listed below:

Day	Session 1	Session 2
Tuesdays	4:00pm	5:45pm
Thursdays	4:00pm	5:45pm