A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Samples of America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study Programs and National Service Initiatives

ALABAMA A & M UNIVERSITY
President Dr. John T. Gibson
America Reads Contact: Josephine Horn
P.O. Box 132
Normal, Alabama
Email: JHORN@ASNAAM.AAMU.EDU
Telephone: (256)851-5524/5526
Fax: (256)851-5511
Number of Students: 10
Number of Districts:

AAMU America Reads Program serves eight elementary schools during the fall and spring. In the summer we serve three centers located within the proximity of the university.Our tutors are recruited from the FWS office as well as from the various departments within the university.We are in partnerships with several organizations and businesses that we are anticipating working with on a broader scale.We are training our tutor volunteers via workshops on a monthly basis.

BEVILL STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
President  Dr. Harold Wade
America Reads Contact: Dr. Carolyn Johnson
Address: 1411 Indiana Avenue
Jasper, AL 35502
Email: cajohnson@bevillst.cc.al.us
Telephone: 205 387-0511, ext. 5707
Fax: 205 387-5175
Number of Students: 30
Number of Districts: 6

SAMFORD UNIVERSITY
President Dr. Thomas E. Corts
Contact: M. Ruth Hudson, Financial Aid Advisor
800 Lakeshore Drive
Birmingham, AL 35229
Email: mrhudson@samford.edu
Internet Address: www.samford.edu/admin/finaid/amread.htm
Telephone: (205) 870-2905
Fax: (205) 870-2738
Number of Students: 15-20
Number of Districts: 3

Comments: The America Reads Program at Samford University is coordinated by the Office of Financial Aid.  FWS students are recruited and placed in one of ten local elementary schools around the city of Birmingham, AL.  All tutors are trained to assess and evaluate each student's reading level through the expertise of a professor in the Orlean Bullard Beeson School of Education.  Through formative and summative evaluation methods, the tutors have seen an improvement in the reading ability of the elementary students.

Tutors have the opportunity to work at inner city schools, as well as suburban schools in grades K-3.  A majority of the tutors work between school hours and a few participate in after school programs at their assigned school.  The America Reads Program has provided many learning opportunities and experiences for both the tutor and the tutee.

THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
President Dr. Andrew A. Sorensen
America Reads Contact: Eleisea (Lisa) Baker
Box 870162
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0162
Email: lbaker@sa.ua.edu
Telephone: (205)348-2980 or 348-2971
Fax: (205) 348-2989
Number of FWS Students: 16
Number of Districts: 2

At The University of Alabama, the America Reads Challenge Program is coordinated by the financial aid office. With the support of an advisory committee, graduate training team, and a staff of undergraduate tutors, the program is now serving 5 area schools and one local community facility. Tutors, trained by both the university and the school districts, work with pre-K through third grade students during scheduled class periods and after school.

Feedback from teachers, tutors, and tutees has been very positive. The tutors, both paid staff and volunteers, have expressed that this has been a very valuable and worthwhile experience. During the summer, we plan to work with the community and local schools and look forward to expanding the program. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of further assistance.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
President W. Ann Reynolds
America Reads Contact: Dr. Barbara Lewis, Dept of Curriculum and Instruction
107 Education Building, UAB
Birmingham, AL 35294-1250
E-mail: blewis@uab.edu
Telephone: (205) 934-5371
Fax:  (205) 934-4792
Number of FWS students: currently 8

The literacy tutoring program, sponsored by the America Reads Challenge, began September 1997. Each term, new tutors participate in a training session to familiarize them with a reading-support strategy developed by two reading specialists in the Birmingham City School System. Tutors use the strategy while working with children on a one-to-one basis. During the tutoring program, which takes place from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the after-school programs of two city schools, each tutor works with three children. Books and other materials for the tutoring program were provided by the UAB School of Education and a university-community partnership funded by a COPC HUD grant.

Approximately 8-12 UAB students serve as literacy tutors each term. A faculty member in the UAB School of Education collects pre- and post-assessment data, monitors the tutoring program, and provides follow-up training and support to the tutors.
 

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This page last updated May 14, 1999 (lw/pjk)