Between independent studies, campus organizations, internships, and volunteering, students at The University of Tulsa find a multitude of ways to get involved, both in the UTulsa and Tulsa communities. For finance junior Kaitlyn Kirchhoff, this has meant engaging on an issue that is important to her: child literacy.

“Based on the 2022 National Assessment for Educational Progress, more than 25% of fourth-graders and 38% of eighth-graders are not able to meet the lowest basic achievement level,” she said. “Only 37% of students nationwide are considered proficient in reading.”

Kirchhoff has seen this firsthand as a volunteer for Common Good Tulsa, where she has witnessed students struggling and their literary skills declining. Interested in why this might be, she decided to position it as the focus of a paper for a 2024 January-term course, Writing for the Profession.

For her paper, Kirchhoff investigated the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had on students’ literary proficiency. What she discovered was concerning: “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions to traditional educational learning. As students navigate these challenging circumstances, concerns are beginning to rise about the repercussions on students’ literacy skills. The multifaceted effects of the pandemic on the development of literacy skills – including reading, writing, and critical analysis – provide an understanding of the challenges and potential repercussions of virtual learning. Challenges arose during the COVID-19 pandemic such as socioeconomic disparities and psychological issues faced by students and teachers alike, affecting students’ ability to learn skills effectively.”

Kirchhoff plans to continue researching literacy education and advocating for literacy among young students. To that end, she will be participating in a research project this summer with the Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge (TURC). Working with professor Helen Douglass and UTulsa’s Department of Education, Kirchhoff will be studying how AI and literacy skills among students interact.

Following her graduation, she hopes to continue her education by pursuing a master’s in both finance and education, ideally at the University of Chicago which offers a joint finance and social policy in education master’s degree. Her goal is to one day become a professor or work in administration for an elementary school. Besides her interest in child literacy, Kirchhoff is also involved in leadership in Women in Business, Friends of Finance and Kappa Alpha Theta and is a peer mentor at UTulsa.