April 1999 Reading Tutoring Programs Across the Nation Get a Boost of Support
Reading tutoring programs across the United States recently got a welcome boost of support. Through a competition sponsored by the network of regional educational laboratories, the national America Reads Challenge has awarded funding to 61 education-community partnerships for reading tutoring programs, including three in the Northwest.
Funding is being used to bolster the tutor-training components of these exemplary programs and prepare a host of tutors—at least 200 at each site—to work with children who are most in need of reading support.
The Northwest Laboratory had a pivotal role in designing the criteria and process used in selecting the projects that were awarded funding. NWREL also collected effective training practices from the 61 programs and is sharing them in a compilation that will be available from the regional educational laboratories in late spring. Following are brief descriptions of the three Northwest projects.
Alaska
Building on the strong vol-unteer base already in place in area schools, the Anchorage Reads Program will recruit and train at least 300 volunteer reading tutors and pair them with children in need of reading support. Tutoring will occur primarily in one-on-one tutorials but may also include reading circles and other small-group approaches.
Designed to serve 400 children in tutoring sessions twice a week, the school district-managed program is open to all prekindergarten through third-grade students in district elementary schools. Emphasis will be given to 20 schools that are underachieving according to language arts and reading scores, and to schools with a significant population of English-language learners and at-risk students.
Washington
The Seattle Reads Tutoring Compact will bring together multiple tutoring programs from throughout the city to develop a comprehensive training program for tutors who work with children in area schools. The project will serve 3,500 students from diverse Seattle neighborhoods, focusing on 13 schools targeted for their need for academic assistance.
Under the supervision of school personnel, about 1,600 tutors will spend two hours a week providing intensive, one-on-one tutoring sessions during the school day and in before- and after-school programs. Partners in the project include: the Fremont Public Association, the Seattle Tutoring Coalition, the Alliance for Education, Seattle Public Schools, and the City of Seattle.
Montana
A collaborative venture of the Montana Office of Public Instruction and the Montana State University System, the Montana America Reads Tutoring Partnership will recruit and train at least 400 tutors, who will serve 400 children in twice-weekly tutoring sessions from October to March.
Targeted communities are spread across the state and include both rural and urban areas with a high percentage of children receiving free or reduced-price lunch, a significant number of American Indian students, and a high population of low-performing readers. At-risk readers in prekindergarten through third grade will be given top priority, but the program will serve students through sixth grade.
Detailed descriptions of the 61 subcontracts are available on NWREL's Web site (http://www.nwrel.org/ecc/).
| Next Article | Contents | NW Report Index |
This document's URL is:
Home | Up & Coming | Programs & Projects: NW Report | People | Products & Publications | Topics
© 2001 Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Date of Last Update: 9/28/01
Email Webmaster
Tel. 503.275.9500
