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SALT LAKE CITY -- Tying balloons to chairs in the rain may not sound like ideal conditions for a Literacy fair, but "we have a cause," said organizer Cheryl Ford.
That cause is a grassroots movement taking place all over Utah to improve reading scores. To do it, communities around 70 elementary schools are gathering volunteers who will read one-on-one on a regular basis, with students who need help reading.
"The self esteem of children is important and their reading is truly at the base of that," said Ford.
The effort is part of Read Today's Project Tutor, a community partnership that involves KSL and other Deseret Media companies, AmeriCorps, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other partners.
School principals identify students who need help and the number of needed tutors. LDS Church Stake Presidents in the surrounding neighborhoods call a literacy coordinator and the tutors who will serve for the school year. AmeriCorps trains the tutors and monitors progress.
KSL's pilot project last spring showed such encouraging progress among students in 5 schools, the tutoring program took off.
By helping them, working with them, tutoring them, it changes your heart, it changes everything about you.
–-Cheryl Ford
So even in a trickle of rain, members of the Valley View Stake were signing up on clip boards to help students at William Penn Elementary in Salt Lake County.
AmeriCorps coordinator Holly Rawlings said their school has a real need for reading help, with a large influx of refugee students from Thailand, Iraq and Nepal.
"Most of them have lived in refugee camps for a few years before they came here," Rawlings said. "And they weren't taught English or their own language, so it's an uphill battle."
With help from neighbors, students not only get extra reading attention, they connect with a mentor. That relationship benefits both parties.
"By helping them, working with them, tutoring them, it changes your heart," said Ford. "it changes everything about you."
Read Today and Project Tutor organizers hope to have a small army of tutors trained and moving into schools within the next few weeks.
For more information, readtoday.com
Email:dwimmer@ksl.com
