Sturtevant Center for Literacy at George Mason University

06/10/2026

Today at SparkSTEM Literacy camp we enjoyed learning from two structural engineers who are working on a new bridge over the Ohio River in Cincinatti. Then we explored trusses and started building prototype models. Tomorrow we will finish building and start testing to see how much load each bridge can hold!

06/09/2026

Spark STEM Literacy camp started yesterday and we are so happy to be back with our community partners! With generous support from the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia and Micron, we are working with older students this year. This week we are learning about bridges. Try making a paper bridge to span a 9-inch space, and then see how many pennies the bridge can hold before collapsing. It's harder than it looks!

05/06/2026

Notice the brain images- reading real books with children has critical implications for attention, development, and learning. Please share with the adults in your life!

04/29/2026

We are excited to announce that our summer Spark STEM camp has been funded through a generous grant from the Micron STEM Opportunity Fund and the Community Foundation of Northern Virginia! We are looking forward to a great summer of blending disciplinary literacy with math modeling, hands-on engineering, science, and technology with our partners at Georgetown South!

04/21/2026

Are you participating in "Take Your Junior Patriot to Work"? Join us on Thursday, April 23 on Merten Lawn between 12-2 for shared reading and storytimes, games, spring activities, and plenty of K-12 literacy support ideas for families. Bonus: We are a passport location so make sure your kids come get theirs stamped!

04/18/2026

Specialized Literacy Professionals Service Project Grant . The goals of this service project grant initiative are to: initiate, extend, or expand existing university-, school- and/or...

01/21/2026

Alumni and current students- this is an exciting opportunity!!

Calling all teachers! Applications for the 2026/27 National Book Foundation Teacher Fellowship are now open!

11/19/2025

We are proud to share the most recent publication from our Center! Please read and share.

Recent Articles Exploring science of reading policy through the lens of self-determination theory Authors Allison Ward Parsons George Mason University https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1529-8113 Seth A. Parsons George Mason University https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9221-6914 Lois A. Groth George Mason Univer...

10/27/2025

We are proud to introduce Dr. Hanwool Heo who successfully defended her dissertation today! As a scholar in the Sturtevant Center for Literacy, she has distinguished herself as an excellent researcher and invaluable member of the LEAP team.

10/14/2025

Check our the latest research from our Center, published today in Reading Research Quarterly! https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/share/2VSECMWHZKDX33F94MS7?target=10.1002/rrq.70071