About
Liz Remington, Ray Oglethorpe, and Barbara Hammond
Mission Statement:
To transform our community’s future and become a model for the nation by creating a culture in which 90% of our children read on grade level by the end of third grade.
Vision Statement:
For our children to become literate, compassionate, creative citizens who will improve our world.
The Learning Alliance emerged from two parents’ efforts to help their children learn to read. Before they were co-founders, Barbara Hammond and Liz Remington were moms searching for ways to support their sons who were struggling in school. They were hands-on with their children and fortunate to have the means and resources necessary to catch them up.
Barbara and Liz were able to find a way for their kids, but it wasn’t easy, and they believed families shouldn’t have to be as lucky or well-resourced to get their children reading. They traveled the country looking for literacy best practices and saw the need for a better, more systematic approach to teaching literacy. Together with the help of a local philanthropist, they founded The Learning Alliance in 2009.
More than 15 years later, The Learning Alliance has supported hundreds of teachers and thousands of students across Indian River County, Florida.
GET INVOLVED
As a mom whose children struggled with reading, I experienced firsthand that learning to read is crucial to a child’s self-esteem and success in school and life. At TLA, we recognize that Literacy is a team sport, and we are deeply grateful to our investors and partners for joining us on the journey to help 90% of children read by the end of third grade so they can thrive beyond.
By aligning efforts across four areas, The Learning Alliance’s Moonshot Model
seeks to create a supportive ecosystem where every child can thrive in literacy.
Educator Coaching and Training
Embedded literacy coaches support over 350 K-2 educators across all elementary schools in the district.
Ongoing professional development ensures educators are equipped with effective reading instruction strategies.
Micro-credentials and literacy badges validate educators’ proficiency in the science of reading.
Afterschool and Summer Tutoring
Moonshot Academy offers literacy-based experiences to improve language comprehension and small-group tutoring to develop foundational reading skills in an engaging camp-like environment.
Literacy on the Lagoon offers hands-on, experiential learning about the Indian River Lagoon in partnership with the Environmental Learning Center.
Family Partnerships:
Moonshot Families initiative empowers caregivers with resources, including free books, learning kits, and reading tips.
Programs like the Lullaby Project engage families in creative literacy activities, strengthening the parent-child connection and building early language skills.
Family Partnerships:
Moonshot Families initiative empowers caregivers with resources, including free books, learning kits, and reading tips.
Programs like the Lullaby Project engage families in creative literacy activities, strengthening the parent-child connection and building early language skills.
Community Engagement:
The Moonshot Community Action Network (MCAN) unites over 125 community leaders to champion early literacy.
Initiatives like the Moonshot Reading Rocket bring literacy experiences directly to families throughout Indian River County.
Follow Us
PBS Segment: "What's Your Moonshot?"
The Learning Alliance Programs Near You
Financial Disclosure
As part of our commitment to transparency, we also want to acknowledge an endowment that we are fortunate to maintain. The endowment was established in 2023 by a donor who wished to make a single, large contribution and discontinue their annual giving; a small percentage of the endowment is now used to support our annual programs. To support the sustainability of our programs, we do not draw down on the majority of the endowment and therefore seek additional funding sources for the rest of our efforts.