In September 1997, the America Reads Challenge committed funds to support selected reading tutoring programs already in existence and encourage the creation of new ones with a strong emphasis on tutor training. In June 1998, thousands of universities, colleges, community literacy programs, professional organizations, and Corporation for National Service sites were invited to apply for $50,000 America Reads Challenge subcontracts. The goals of the America Reads funding were to facilitate innovation in reading tutoring and to create an arena in which to identify effective and promising practices in program development and tutor training.
Photo supplied by Seattle Reads Tutoring Compact |
Programs competing for the subcontracts were asked to outline their goals, objectives, milestones, and tasks. Program design was to be based on or consistent with the latest research on literacy, reading development, and developmentally appropriate practice for early childhood education. Partnerships between community members and educational institutions were encouraged. Each candidate provided an overview of its program and participating partners. Candidates presented a general demographic profile of communities to be served and projected the number of children to be reached. The expertise and roles of each program partner were identified. An organizational structure was outlined, and a tutor-training model was defined, including how tutors would be recruited, trained, fielded, and supported.
Tutoring partnerships that were awarded a subcontract could use the funds to improve or expand an existing program or create a new one, while focusing on high-quality training for the largest possible number of tutors. Programs could allocate funds to hire or contract with a qualified tutor trainer or training coordinator, develop research-based training materials such as videotapes and manuals, cover tutor-training costs, and/or coordinate training among partnership members.
Each candidate program's proposal was evaluated for the following:
After expert panels at the regional educational laboratories reviewed the proposals, 61 partnerships were selected for the $50,000 subcontracts. (See the Appendices for a list of contacts at the regional educational laboratories.) The awards were based primarily on a program's potential to provide quality tutor-training programs. While the 61 programs are diverse in their organizational structure, models of tutoring delivery, and volunteer training and support, all share a common beneficiary: the reading child.
This report is an effort to share the lessons learned by these 61 partnerships and to help others forward the goals of the America Reads Challenge. After the grants were awarded, the regional educational laboratories submitted reports about the reading partnerships to the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. The wealth of information in the 61 reports was mined and refined, resulting in this publication.
What can be learned from these partnerships? What do they look like on the ground? A few programs are highlighted in this report in order to give a deeper insight into their daily practices. The highlighted programs were chosen because they exemplify some unique characteristic, from the multi-ethnicity of Miami Reads to the daunting geography faced by the Montana America Reads Tutoring Partnership. The 61 partnerships' favorite tutoring manuals are described in a sidebar (see Favorite Manuals). Supporting materials are included in the Appendices: a list of hands-on lessons learned by the partnerships (see Lessons Learned); information about how the partnerships chose to spend funds to maximize their effectiveness (see How to Spend $50,000); a list of references partnerships have found useful (see Partnerships' Bibliography); contact information for the 61 partnerships, and the 10 regional educational laboratories.
|
This document's URL is: Home | Up & Coming | Programs & Projects: Education, Career and Community Program | People | Products & Publications | Topics © 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
|
