By Laurie O’Brien
Before third grade, most children are learning to read. After that time, they start reading to learn. If children don’t achieve certain reading bench marks, by about grade four, it begins to affect their ability to progress in other subjects like math and science.
Teachers don’t always have the time to work one-on-one with struggling readers. With increased class sizes, reduced funding for para-professionals, and more and more demands on teacher’s time to meet state curriculum and testing requirements, giving individual students even ten minutes of dedicated reading time per week is a near impossibility.
So what’s the solution?
Enter the United Way of Thurston County. To help promote grade level reading success, the United Way organization is making a dedicated effort to recruit one million new volunteer readers, tutors and mentors across the country. Jennifer Thompson, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program Coordinator (RSVP) for the United Way of Thurston County is leading the charge in our community and surrounding counties.
“We started recruiting volunteers and placing them in schools last year,” says Thompson. By year’s end, she had about 50 volunteers working across the county, primarily in the Olympia School District. She’d like to double those numbers this year and include as many school districts as possible.
Charleen Hayes was serving as substitute principal at Hansen Elementary School in West Olympia last year when Thompson approached her, asking if the school would like to participate in the program. “Boy, did we!” says Hayes. “The United Way/RSVP folks do the initial trainings, and then we work with the volunteers to serve the needs of our kids.”
Thompson assigned six volunteers to the school. They spent the majority of their time working with approximately 25 students who had been selected due to low fluency scores on reading tests. According to Hayes, when other students expressed interested in working with the Reading Buddies, they were often accommodated as well.
“We tried to provide flexibility around the busy schedules of our volunteers,” says Hayes. “Some came two days per week for an hour each time, others could only come once a week. Each student got to read with a Buddy for ten minutes each time they visited.”
Hayes was able to collect data about the improvement students made during the six month period the Reading Buddies Program was active at Hansen. On average, struggling readers were able to increase their per-minute reading scores by six to seven words. A few students recorded double digit improvement.
“We measured fluency as words correct per minute. While we did not quantify prosody (the rhythm and intonation of speech) our volunteers often commented on how fun it was to hear the passage improve…along with the student’s confidence in reading aloud.”
Lou Wilcox starting volunteering as a Reading Buddy at Garfield Elementary School last spring after reading about the program in his church bulletin. When asked about the impact of the program, he responds, “Do you mean the impact I had on them or the impact they had on me?” The retired National Guardsman is so enthusiastic about the Reading Buddies Program and working with kids now, that he has started college classes and is looking forward to earning a degree in education.
Another volunteer notes that reading is key to a successful life: “I think it’s crucial. If people don’t read, they lose self-confidence. Sometimes they end up thinking that they’re dumb, and they’re not, really. Every single one of these kids is smart.”
Sometimes, all it takes is one person to believe in a kid, and, notes Thompson, “That Reading Buddy could be the person who helps turn a child into a reader.”
Thompson has already trained a number of volunteers for the 2013-14 school year, and they’re starting to settle in at elementary schools all over Thurston County.
Hayes finished her substitute gig at Hansen, but she is definitely spreading the word about The Reading Buddies Program. “This year I’m working as a reading specialist at Hansen and McKenny, and it is my plan to use them at both schools. The teachers have already been emailing, asking when they will be in the buildings. According to Jennifer Thompson, we’ll have some of last year’s volunteers returning as well as some new faces! I can’t wait!”
If you are interested in volunteering with the United Way’s Reading Buddies Program, please contact Jennifer Thompson at 360-943-2773. She stresses that although she works primarily with retired volunteers, all ages are welcome to participate in this program.
You can learn more about the Reading Buddies Program here.
