Learning Ally, a national nonprofit working with schools and families to improve literacy across the country, is celebrating its 75th year in service to educators and emerging and struggling readers.

The organization began in 1948 as Recording for the Blind when Anne T. Macdonald led the New York Public Library’s Women’s Auxiliary to record textbooks on vinyl phonograph discs as a service for soldiers who had lost their sight in WWII.

Today, Learning Ally supports over 615,000 U.S. educators with award-winning solutions from PreK-12th grade, to enable millions of students to become independent, engaged readers, regardless of background or learning difference.

Learning Ally’s legacy and recent innovations encompass:

• An 80,000+ human-read audiobook solution providing K-12th grade schools and students with equitable access to grade-level curriculum, literature and popular titles.
• Excite Reading™, a supplemental curriculum for PreK-2 educators to fortify emergent readers’ foundational skills in vocabulary, background knowledge and early comprehension.
• Professional learning programming to strengthen educators’ knowledge in the science of reading, dyslexia awareness and to support educators in effective instruction in the classroom.
• Annual Spotlight on Dyslexia conference, monthly webinars, literacy leadership podcasts, and Educator Community to share collective intelligence and form a supportive learning environment.

“We are grateful to our community of educators, donors, volunteers, corporations and foundations who support our work,” said Andrew Friedman, CEO of Learning Ally. “Our mission continues as we seek to drive sustainable and transformational impact, so that all children have equal opportunity to read, learn and achieve to their highest potential.”

On Thursday, October 19, 2023 from 6 to 8:30 PM, the organization will host a 75-year celebration at their central office, 20 Roszel Road, Princeton, NJ 08540, to thank the dedicated employees, donors, volunteers, and supporters of its ‘literacy for all’ mission.

About Learning Ally                                                  

Learning Ally is a leading education nonprofit dedicated to empowering educators with proven solutions that help new and struggling learners reach their potential. Our range of literacy-focused offerings for students in Pre-K to 12th grade and catalog of professional learning allows us to support more than 2.3 million students and 615,000 educators across the United States.