Who We Are

Our History

The work behind Voice Advocacy Center began more than two decades ago with one child, one mother, and a determination that failure would not be accepted as her future.

Clarice Jackson’s journey into literacy advocacy began when she met Latecia Fox, who was in the second grade and unable to read even simple two- and three-letter words. By the time Latecia reached fourth grade, she was still unable to read independently, despite having been promoted from grade to grade. Clarice could not stand by and watch a child continue through school without the ability to complete her work or access the education she deserved.

As Clarice became increasingly involved in Latecia’s life, Latecia’s biological mother recognized the love, commitment, and advocacy Clarice was providing and ultimately asked Clarice to become her legal guardian and mother.

Once in that role, Clarice began searching for answers. She discovered a long history of academic struggle dating back to early childhood and realized that without someone intentionally advocating for appropriate instruction, intervention, and accountability, Latecia’s future could be permanently affected.

During that search, Clarice encountered the word dyslexia and immediately recognized that it described many of the difficulties Latecia had experienced with reading, writing, and spelling. Clarice enrolled Latecia in The Phoenix Academy, a private school that provided multisensory reading instruction designed for students with dyslexia. With the right instructional approach, Latecia progressed from being a nonreader to reading at approximately a third-grade level within one year.

That experience changed everything.

Clarice learned firsthand that struggling readers do not simply need more of the same instruction. They need the right instruction, delivered with consistency, encouragement, and someone willing to walk alongside them.

What began as advocacy for one child grew into advocacy for many. Clarice began attending special education trainings locally and nationally, joining disability and literacy organizations, collaborating with community partners, conducting trainings, volunteering, and accompanying families to Individualized Education Program, Individual Family Service Plan, and transition meetings. Over time, she accumulated extensive training in special education advocacy and developed specialized expertise in dyslexia and literacy intervention.

But Clarice also recognized something else: children need more than intervention alone. They need relationships. They need encouragement. They need trusted adults who believe in them, hold them accountable, help them persist, and remind them that difficulty with reading does not define their potential.

That understanding became an important part of the evolution of Voice Advocacy Center.

In 2012, Clarice incorporated Voice Advocacy Center, also known as Voice Advocacy Reading Center, as a nonprofit organization to address the lack of resources available to families of struggling readers, students with dyslexia, and children receiving special education services.

Today, Voice Advocacy Center builds upon those same roots through a comprehensive literacy mentoring model that combines caring relationships with evidence-based reading instruction, structured literacy, dyslexia expertise, educational advocacy, family support, and community partnerships.

The mission that began with Latecia remains at the heart of the organization today: to ensure that children who struggle to read are seen, supported, taught effectively, and surrounded by people who refuse to give up on them.

That is the story of Voice Advocacy Center.

And that is why the work continues.