Roots and Wings, Palm Beach County’s largest local nonprofit focused on literacy and teacher recognition, announced that its Project UpLift reading program is expanding to five additional schools for the 2026–27 academic year. With the additions, the nonprofit will now operate in 24 Title 1 elementary schools throughout Palm Beach County, marking the largest footprint in the organization’s history.
The five new schools are: Banyan Creek Elementary in Delray Beach; Barton Elementary in Lake Worth; Diamond View Elementary in Greenacres; and Forest Park Elementary and Poinciana Elementary in Boynton Beach.
The expansion comes as Palm Beach County faces persistent early-literacy challenges: only 57% of third graders read on grade level, with lower proficiency at many Title 1 schools. Research shows students not reading proficiently by the end of third grade are four times more likely to leave high school without a diploma.
Project UpLift is a free after-school tutoring program for elementary students in the bottom 25% of their class in reading, receiving at least 54 hours of targeted literacy instruction during the school year in groups of 10 or fewer.
“Third grade is the critical year,” said Ted Hoskinson, Founder and President of Roots and Wings. “Up to that point, a child is learning to read. After that, they’re reading to learn, and a student who hasn’t gotten there yet can spend the rest of their education trying to catch up. Adding five schools means several hundred more children will have access to the help they need.”
