Do health initiatives also have an impact on children’s literacy?
The OrganWise Guys are a group of lovable organ characters–brought to life via soft toys, books, and a range of nutrition and physical activity materials. Meet Hardy Heart, Madame Muscle, and the Kidney Brothers: coming to a school library near you!
Backed by considerable evidence that shows OrganWise Guys activities can positively impact indicators of children’s health, founders Michelle Lombardo and Karen McNamara wanted to test whether the materials could impact literacy scores in rural Mississippi.
OrganWise Guys activities are now being run by school librarians in seven schools across Sunflower County in Mississippi State.
CERE are conducting a quasi-experimental evaluation to test whether schools who receive OrganWise Guys materials perform better on tests of literacy than those who don’t take part.
Funded by the Kellogg Foundation, our work with OrganWise Guys is focused on literacy outcomes, using a traditional quasi-experimental design.
