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

On the Road to Reading: A Guide for Community Partners


Chapter 5 Building Community Partnerships (continued)

Examples of Reading and Tutoring Programs


Program: Books and Beyond
Type: Reading Motivation
Developer: Solana Beach School District, California
Site(s): Elementary schools throughout the United States
Focus: All children and their families
Time: Programs run from 4 to 6 months
Tutors/Staff: School staff, parents, and community volunteers
Materials: A free information packet is available. Schools can purchase program implementation materials.
Description: This reading incentive program is designed to improve children's attitudes toward reading and to foster a love of books. Read-a-thons are based on recreational reading at home and at school. Family literacy activities encourage reading at home and promote thoughtful use of television.
Contact: Write or call, Books and Beyond, Solana Beach School District, North Rios Avenue, Solana Beach, CA 92075, 619-755-3823.

Program: Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program
Type: Tutoring
Developer: Employees of Montgomery Ward started the program 31 years ago
Site(s): Public housing complex
Focus: Children in kindergarten through grade 6
Time: The program operates 3 nights a week from 5:30-7:00 p.m. Children attend once a week.
Tutors/Staff: Tutors include parents and volunteers from throughout Chicago. Tutors attend a training and orientation session, tour the program, and meet with coordinators and veteran tutors before beginning work. Three additional training workshops are held each year. Former participants can become Junior Asistants who assist staff and volunteers, serve as peer tutors, and help run the library, art, and resource areas.
Materials: Contact the program for information on available resources.
Description: This after-school tutoring program is designed to motivate and enhance students' learning abilities. Each tutor works one-on-one with a child in the program. More than 450 children receive tutoring each week. Through Reading is Fundamental (RIF), the program holds book events during which children can choose books to take home and keep. Families are invited to participate in special projects and field trips.
Contact: Write or call, Cabrini-Green Tutoring Program, 844 North Larrabee, Location 1-1, Chicago, IL 60610, 312-467-4980.

Program: Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI)
Type: Early Literacy
Developer: n/a
Site(s): Head Start and other child development programs and kindergarten
Focus: Preschool children
Time: Training includes 4 or 5 two-hour sessions for staff and specialists, a two-hour session for parents, and follow-up training sessions.
Tutors/Staff: CLI staff provide the training.
Materials: Creating a Classroom Literacy Environment, is a handbook for early childhood classroom staff on creating literacy-rich classrooms.
Description: CLI's mission is to prevent illiteracy before it begins. The organization provides training on emergent literacy for teachers, parents, and caregivers of young children. To ensure that children have access to plenty of high quality books, programs that participate in the training receive an average of 21 books for each classroom.
Contact: Write or call, 2314 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-561-4676.

Program: Early Identification (I.D.)
Type: Reading Intervention
Developer: Reading Community Schools
Site(s): Both elementary schools in the school district
Focus: Kindergarten students identified through a formal screening process as below average in visual perception, fine motor skills, or basic concepts.
Time: Ten minutes per session, 3 to 5 times a week, throughout the school year
Tutors/Staff: A pool of 51 volunteers who are high school students, parents, and retirees
Materials: Contact the program for information on available resources.
Description: Tutors attend an interactive two-hour group orientation and training session at the beginning of the school year. Trained volunteers work one-on-one with children using structured and individualized materials designed to increase a child's visual perception, fine motor skills, and/or basic concepts. Annual pre- and post-tests document children's progress during the kindergarten year and in subsequent grades.
Contact: Write or call, Robert L. Stark, Coordinator of Special Services, Board of Education Office, 1301 Bonnell Avenue, Reading, OH 45215, 513-554-1800.

Program: Growing Together, Inc.
Type: Tutoring
Developer: Teresa Knudson, Executive Director
Site(s): Growing Together, is an independent, non-profit organization which began by serving family shelter residents. Tutoring sessions are now held at a church.
Focus: Students ages 6 to 14 who are failing or below grade level
Time: Two hour sessions, 2-3 times a week, and some follow-up via telephone.
Tutors/Staff: Regular tutors have a college degree or are still in college. Floating tutors fill in when regular tutors are absent. Some volunteers make materials used in tutoring sessions. Tutors attend an orientation/training session and take a written test before assignment to a student.
Materials: A Tutor's Manual offers general guidance and specific strategies.
Description: The program is designed to improve students' academic performance in school and their ability to function in group settings. In addition to one- on-one tutoring, students take part in group activities and go on field trips. Students are referred by teachers, counselors, and parents.
Contact: Write or call, Teresa Knudson, Executive Director, Growing Together, 3900 16th Street, NW #520, Washington, DC 20011, 202-882-5359.

Program: Hilliard Elementary School
Type: Tutoring
Developer: School team of Principal, Vice-Principal and Dean of Instruction
Site(s): Elementary school
Focus: Grades 3 through 5
Time: Extended day, 4 afternoons a week; Saturday morning program, 8 weeks, summer program, during the vacation period
Tutors/Staff: Tutoring team of 6 to 8 teachers and 6 to 8 trained parent volunteers
Materials: Contact the school for information on available resources.
Description: This intensive after-school, weekend and summer school program helps students improve reading skills through hands-on activities that reinforce what students learn during school hours. On 8 Saturday mornings, 125 students take part in reading classes led by a team of teachers and parents. The summer school program is centered around thematic units. In the spring of 1995, 80 percent of the school's third-grade students met expectations on the state reading assessment, an increase from 20 percent in 1990.
Contact: Write or call, Rufus Allen, Principal, Hilliard Elementary School, 6511 North Wayside Houston, TX 77028, 713-635-3085.

Program: KY READS (formerly SLICE Corps)
Type: Tutoring
Developer: Board of Education, Simpson County, Kentucky
Site(s): Elementary schools
Focus: Children in second through fourth grade
Time: Weekly for eight months per year.
Tutors/Staff: AmeriCorps members serve as reading coaches.
Materials: A free information packet is provided at training sessions. Program implementation materials are available.
Description: Reading coaches meet with students one-on-one and via telephone when children are absent from school. Every other week coaches make home visits to show parents reading materials, report on the child's progress, ask for advice on working with a child, offer tips on helping the child read, and encourage family reading. Many parents now spend more time helping their children read. Reading coaches write and say only positive things to parents about their children and school. The program leads free 2-day workshops for national service programs in partnership with the Institute for Service Learning, a Learn and Serve America grantee in Pennsylvania.
Contact: Write or call, KYREADS, P. O. Box 467, Franklin KY 42135, 1-888-KY-READS.

Program: Jumpstart
Type: Early Literacy
Developer: Jumpstart was founded by students at Yale University. The training program was developed by Ana Vaisensteing, Director of Education at Jumpstart.
Site(s): Head Start and child care programs in low-income communities in Boston and New Haven; Jumpstart will expand to New York and Washington, DC
Focus: Preschool children, identified by teachers as needing one-on-one attention
Time: Two hours, two afternoons a week and full time in the summer
Tutors/Staff: AmeriCorps members who are college students serve as tutors. More than 50% of the Members receive work-study wages.
Materials: Contact the program for information about available materials.
Description: Eighty AmeriCorps members, work one-on-one with the same child over a two-year period. About 20 percent of their time is spent in the Jumpstart Future Teachers training program to gain skills used in their work with young children and to explore the field of early childhood education. AmeriCorps members work with teachers to develop an individual learning plan with an early literacy focus and communicate regularly with teachers and families to share information about the child. Families are involved in classroom activities and are encouraged to create home literacy environments. During the school year, Jumpstart services are provided at the end of the early childhood program day. The full-time summer program serves 300 children by operating in classrooms that would otherwise be closed for the season. The evaluation of the first year in Jumpstart, conducted by Yale University, suggests that the program has positive effects on children's school readiness.
Contact: Write or call, Jumpstart, 93 Summer Street, Boston, MA 02110, 617-542-JUMP, or visit the web site, http://www.jstart.org.

Program: National Reading Styles Institute
Type: Reading Intervention
Developer: Marie Carbo, Executive Director
Site(s): Operate 10 model elementary schools, trainers work with 200 schools a year
Focus: Students in kindergarten through grade three
Time: Implemented during the school day
Tutors/Staff: Teachers who have attended reading styles training
Materials: Contact the program for a catalog of available materials.
Description: This reading approach is based on identifying and using children's learning styles and strengths. Teachers are encouraged to use whatever strategies and materials work for a given child. For example, the reading program for a child with auditory and analytic strengths might include phonics instruction; the reading program for a child with tactile and kinesthetic strengths might include making and using puppets to retell a story.
Contact: Write or call, National Reading Styles Institute, P. O. Box 737, Syosset, NY 11791-0737, 1- 800-331-3117, or visit the web site, http://www.literacy.org.

Program: Pilot Tutoring Programs
Type: Tutoring
Developer: Jerome Kagan, Professor, Harvard University in collaboration with Initiatives for Children at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cambridge School Volunteers, and the Cambridge Public Schools.
Site(s): Cambridge Public Schools, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Focus: First graders with low scores on reading tests
Time: One hour sessions, three times a week, from October to May
Tutors/Staff: Cambridge School Volunteers recruits seniorsage 55 and olderas volunteers, many of whom are former teachers. The tutors receive intitial training and ongoing observation and bi-weekly review sessions throughout the year from experienced reading specialists.
Materials: Contact the program for information on available resources.
Description: This intergenerational tutoring program is designed to improve the reading skills of at-risk first grade students. Each tutor works with one child in a quiet place in the classroom or in a separate room. The project includes a rigorous evaluation of its effects on the students' reading achievement and social development. One goal is to determine whether the model can be replicated in other communities.
Contact: Write or call, Jerome Kagan, Dept. of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-495-3870.

Program: Reach Out and Read (ROR) Program
Type: Early Literacy
Developer: Physicians and early childhood educators at Boston City Hospital created the first ROR Program. Boston City Hospital is now a national training site for similar pediatric early literacy programs.
Site(s): Boston City Hospital and health-care settings, nationwide
Focus: Children ages 6 months to 6 years
Time: Reading aloud and providing books takes place during regularly scheduled well-child visits to pediatric clinics.
Tutors/Staff: Volunteers (college students, retirees, corporate program participants) read to children in the waiting room and all medical personnel encourage reading.
Materials: Reach Out and Read, A Pediatric Early Literacy Program, Program Manual is a hands-on guide to creating and running a pediatric early literacy program.
Description: ROR integrates literacy development into regular pediatric care. In the waiting room, volunteers read to children and model read-aloud techniques. In the examination room, the pediatrician or nurse practicioner looks at a book with the child and encourages parents to use books to support their child's healthy development. After each visit, children are invited to take home a new book for their home library.
Contact: Write or call, Abby Jewkes, ROR National Training Site, One Boston Medical Center Place, Boston MA 02118-2393, 617-414-5701.

Program: READ*WRITE*NOW*!
Type: Tutoring
Developer: The U.S. Department of Education in partnership with Hadassah
Site(s): Youth organizations, libraries, schools
Focus: Children in grades 1 through 6
Time: 24, 30 to 35-minute sessions over 12 weeks
Tutors/Staff: High school students or adults
Materials: The READ*WRITE*NOW*! Partners Tutoring Program, a 20-page tutoring guide, offers general strategies and guidelines, a step-by-step outline, and suggestions for handling specific reading issues. Related materials include Activities for Reading and Writing Fun which is designed for use with children ages birth to grade 6 and Play on Paper, a booklet that introduces younger children to beginning reading materials.
Description: Typical sessions include a review of the previous session, rereading of a story, paired reading of a new story, vocabulary and comprehension exercises, and a writing activity.
Contact: Call the U.S. Department of Education, 1-800-USA-LEARN, or visit the America Reads Challenge web site, http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/ and select the Publications menu item, Read*Write*Now!

Program: READY*SET*READ
Type: Early Literacy
Developer: The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTAC), administered by Collins Managment Consulting, Inc., Vienna, Virginia, as a joint project of the Corporation for National Service, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Site(s): Family literacy, child care, and Head Start programs and community organizations such as libraries
Focus: Children from birth through age 5
Time: n/a
Tutors/Staff: n/a
Materials: Ready*Set*Read for Families and Ready*Set*Read for Caregivers include early childhood language activities. The booklets are distributed alone and as part of the Ready*Set*Read Early Childhood Learning Kit along with an activity calendar and a developmental poster. The activity calendar and graphic design work on the Kit were produced by Books and Beyond.
Description: The materials can be used in home and child care and Head Start settings as part of new or ongoing family literacy services, staff development, parent education, or other literacy-related activities.
Contact: Call the U.S. Department of Education, 1-800-USA-LEARN, or visit the America Reads Challenge web site, http://www.ed.gov/inits/americareads/ and select the Publications menu item, Ready*Set*Read.

Program: Reading One-One
Type: Reading Intervention
Developer: Dr. George Farkas, University of Texas
Site(s): Schools in Brownsville, Dallas, and San Antonio, TX and St. Lake City, UT
Focus: Students in grades 1 through 8, selected by teachers and principals
Time: 3 to 4, 40 minute sessions per week, during the school day
Tutors/Staff: Trained tutors are college students who receive credit and community members and teacher aides who are paid through Chapter I (Title I). On-site tutor coordinators supervise.
Materials: A Tutor Manual provides information on the Reading One-One curriculum and approach and general guidance on tutoring and program policies and procedures. An overview of the program is also available.
Description: Reading One-One includes techniques from Reading Recovery and Success for All, and activities for "Alphabet" and "Word Family" skills. It incorporates the Essential Elements from the Texas Education Agency. Students are tested on the first day and placed in one of three levels: Alphabet, Word Family, or Reading Ready. Tutors identify students' reading strengths and needs, provide lessons that build new reading skills, and encourage productive reading behaviors.
Contact: Write or call, Dr. George Farkas, University of Texas at Dallas, P. O. Box 830688, Richardson, TX 75083-0680, 214-883-2023, or visit the web site: http://www.utdallas.edu/dept/socsci/cesp/intro.html.

Program: Reading Recovery
Type: Reading Intervention
Developer: Marie M. Clay, New Zealand educator and psychologist
Site(s): Local school systems in 38 states and Washington, DC, Canada, Australia, England, and New Zealand
Focus: First grade students who are among the lowest achievers in reading in their classes as measured by individually administered diagnostic instruments
Time: Daily, 30-minute one-on-one sessions for 12 to 20 weeks
Tutors/Staff: Teacher-leaders attend a one year training program at a designated university, then train teachers to implement the Reading Recovery model.
Materials: Professional books for teacher-leaders and teachers and books for children.
Description: Reading Recovery is a preventive program, designed to identify and assist children before they experience frustration and fail to learn to read and write. Teachers provide individualized instruction based on each child's strengths. Teaching techniques encourage children to make their own links between reading and writing and become independent readers and writers. Children leave the program when they have developed their own system of reading and writing strategies and can function at average levels in their class. Most Reading Recovery graduates continue to increase reading and writing skills and do well in the classroom without needing extra support.
Contact: Write or call: 1-800-390-READ
The Ohio State University
   Reading Recovery Program
200 Ramseyer Hall
29 West Woodruff Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210-1177
614-292-7807

National Diffusion Network
U.S. Department of
   Education, OERI
555 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20208-5573
202-219-2161

Midlands Learning Consortium
   Reading Recovery Project
Division of Curriculum and
   Instruction
Delzell Education Center
University of South Dakota
414 East Clark
Vermillion, SD 57069
605-677-6312

Texas Woman's University
College of Education and
   Human Ecology
P. O. Box 23029
Denton, TX 76204-3029
818-898-2227

AmeriCorps for Math & Literacy
California State University,
   San Bernardino
5500 University Parkway
UH-401.24
San Bernardino, CA 92407
909-880-5644

Midlands Learning Consortium
   Reading Recovery Project
Department of Elementary/
   Early Childhood Education
Founder's Hall
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849-1265
308-865-8097


Program: Rolling Readers USA
Type: Reading Motivation
Program: Everyone a Reader
Type: Tutoring
Developer: Robert Condon
Site(s): Schools, preschools, housing complexes, and homeless shelters
Focus: Rolling Readers works with children from preschool through the elementary grades. Everyone a Reader works with children in the primary grades.
Time: One hour per week
Tutors/Staff: Volunteers come from throughout the community
Materials: Contact Rolling Readers for information about available materials.
Description: The goal of Rolling Readers USA is to encourage young children to love books and reading. Once a week volunteers read aloud to children. Three times a year children receive a new hard-bound book.

Everyone a Reader is a tutoring campaign conducted in conjunction with the San Diego Office of Education. The goal is to raise every child's reading to grade level by the end of third grade. Tutors teach children reading techniques such as using clues to find meaning, looking at sentence structure, and phonetics.

Contact: Write to Rolling Readers, 3049 University Avenue, San Diego, CA 92104, call 1-800-390 READ, or visit the web site, http://www.rollingreaders.org.

Program: Running Start
Type: Reading Motivation
Developer: Reading is Fundamental (RIF)
Site(s): Elementary schools
Focus: First-grade students
Time: 10 weeks
Tutors/Staff: n/a
Materials: Brochure; Classroom Kit containing supplies and incentives; Coordinator's Kit including a planning guide, a Teacher's Handbook, a video; and a banner.
Description: School, homes, and the community are involved in a celebration of reading designed to help children develop a love of reading. Teachers receive funds to purchase 50 to 60 high-quality fiction and informational books so children can be immersed in book-rich environments. Children are challenged to read or be read 21 books during the 10-week program. To meet this challenge, children can read alone, be paired with older readers, listen to books read by guest readers, and read with parents and other family members. After meeting the challenge, children can choose books to take home as their own.
Contact: Write or call RIF, 600 Maryland Avenue, SW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20024, 202-287-3220, or visit the web site, http://www.si.edu/rif.

Program: Seniors for Schools Initiative
Type: America Reads Intergenerational
Developer: National Senior Service Corps Grant Guidelines
Site(s): 9 demonstration project sites
Focus: Kindergarten through third grade students in the public schools.
Time: Varies by site
Tutors/Staff: Persons age 55 years and older.
Materials: Varies by site. Technical assistance support will be provided by the Center for School Success at the Southern Regional Council in Atlanta, Georgia. Contact Marcia Klenbort at (404) 522-8764.
Description: The Seniors for Schools Initiative is an intergenerational America Reads demonstration project, operated at nine sites nationwide. The projects were developed in response to grant guidelines prepared by the Senior Corps of the Corporation for National Service.
Contact: Federal project officer is Tess Scannell. Contact at (202) 606-5000, Ext. 300. Sites are:
John Fuller
Mid-Florida Community
  Services
1127 N. Boulevard East
Leesburg, FL 34748
(352) 589-4545
Melissa Gartenberg
MAGIC ME/Boston, Inc.
21 Temple Place
Boston, MA 02111
(617) 423-6633
Tanya Prindle
Senior Resources, Inc.
2021 E. Hennepin, Suite 130
Minneapolis, MN 55413-2723
(612) 617-7807

Kimberly Jordan
YMCA of Greater
   Kansas City
3100 Broadway, Suite 93
Kansas City, MO 64111
(816) 561-9622 or
(816) 418-3918
Rebecca Haase
Community Service Society
   of New York
105 E. 22nd Street
New York, NY 1001
(212) 614-5567
Joy Banish
RSVP of Greater Cleveland, Inc.
2611 Church Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44113
(216) 566-9192

Shirley McCormack
Metropolitan Family Services
2200 NE 24th Street
Portland, OR 97212
(503) 249-0469
Rob Tietze
Temple University
Center for Intergenerational
   Learning
1601 Broad St., Room 206
Philadelphia, PA 19122
(215) 204-8057
Jane Quist
South East Texas
Regional Planning Commission
PO Drawer 1387
Nederland, TX 77627
(409) 722-0203

Program: Success for All & Lee Conmigo
Type: Reading Intervention (a Spanish-language version)
Developer: Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University
Site(s): Elementary schools in 31 states
Focus: Preschool through grade 5
Time: Daily, 90 minute reading periods throughout the school year
Tutors/Staff: Tutoring is provided by specially trained, certified teachers who work one-on-one with children in grades 1 through 3 who are behind their classmates in reading. First graders receive priority for one-on-one tutoring. Classroom teachers work as a team and participate in a three-day training session before the program begins, follow-up visits, and inservice training. A full-time facilitator helps teachers implement the program. The school's Principal or Assistant Principal, facilitator, social worker, and other personnel comprise a Family Support Team.
Materials: Contact Success For All for information on available materials.
Description: Schools must apply to become a Success For All school to ensure that the staff are aware of the program's elements, have the resources to implement the program successfully, and are committed to the program. A positive vote of 80% or more of the teachers is required. Program components include:
  • One-one tutoring for students in grades 1 through 3 who are falling behind in reading.
  • Eight-week assessments to monitor reading progress and identify and address problems.
  • Half-day preschool and full-day kindergarten, with an emphasis on language and positive self-concept, when possible.
  • Daily 90-minute reading and writing periods during which time students are grouped by skill level and cooperative learning is emphasized. In kindergarten and first grade, children work on phonetic awareness, auditory discrimnation, sound blending, meaning, context, self-monitoring strategies, and paired reading. In grades 2 through 5, students use the school's reading materials in a structured set of interactive reading, discussion, and writing activities. Independent reading for 20 minutes each evening.
Contact: Write or call, Success for All Program, Johns Hopkins University, 3505 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, 410-516-8896 or 1-800-548-4998, or visit the web site, http://successforall.com.

Program: Texas Children's Literacy Corps
Type: Tutoring
Developer: AmeriCorps Programs at the Mental Health Association in Texas.
Site(s): Schools, homeless shelters, public housing complexes, and after school programs.
Focus: Children in kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Time: Individualized tutoring is provided during school, after school, weekends, and/or in the summer. Tutoring sessions are 40 minutes or longer and take place twice a week.
Tutors/Staff: AmeriCorps members work with children one-on-one or in small groups. Training is provided shortly after enrollment and midyear.
Materials: Contact Texas Children's Literacy Corps for information on available materials.
Description: Teams of AmeriCorps members in the TCLC work with organizations throughout Texas to improve children's literacy by enhancing and expanding sytematic tutoring services. All of the TCLC sites are required to use a reading model that has been shown to be effective and is related to the in-school reading program; involve families, teachers, and the private sector; and provide support services such as transportation and access to free reading materials.
Contact: Write or call, Allen Dietz, Texas Children's Literacy Corps, AmeriCorps Programs at the Mental Health Association in Texas, 8401 Shoal Creek Blvd., Austin, TX 78757, 512-454-3706.

Program: Virtual Y
Type: After-School Literacy Program
Developer: The YMCA of Greater New York.
Site(s): New York City public schools in all boroughs and school districts.
Focus: Children in second through fourth grade.
Time: Mondays through Fridays, 3 to 6 p.m.
Tutors: Trained YMCA staff and work study students from local colleges.
Materials: Information packet and program manual.
Description: YMCA staff are on site at selected elementary schools to provide a program of tutoring and homework help, enrichment activities, values development, recreation, and sports. The program integrates literacy and language experiences with health and values education.
Contact: Write or call YMCA of Greater NY, 333 Seventh Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10001 212-630-9600 or visit the web site: http://www.ymcanyc.org.


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