Reading
A Community Rallies Around Reading

In one California town, NEA members reap the benefits of a reading program created and trumpeted by the local newspaper.

In Sandra Ballard's second-grade classroom at Franklin Elementary School in Bakersfield, California, it's not unusual to have a different visitor every day of the week. In fact, Ballard counts on them. That's because these visitors help small groups of her students overcome their frustrations around reading-and make great academic progress, too.

The visitors, employees of local car dealership Jim Burke Ford, adopted the struggling second-grade students three years ago as part of the Community Reading Project, a county-wide tutoring program that places volunteer readers in second-grade classrooms. The mentors rotate reading with students selected by Ballard.

"These students are able to read but struggle to keep up with their peers," explains Ballard. "With the help of these reading mentors, my students are making great progress."

The Community Reading Project began the spring of 1999 when the publisher and staff of the Bakersfield Californian became alarmed by one fact well-known to literacy advocates: If children aren't reading at grade level by third grade, they have only a one in eight chance of catching up. Californian publisher Ginger Moorehead not only recruited her employees as mentors to local schools but also urged area businesses to do the same. The newspaper then promoted the program with a series of articles highlighting schools and mentors.

Today, 250 volunteers visit schools throughout the community each semester.

Before entering the classroom, the reading coaches spend time learning precisely how to coach. "We go over cueing systems like taking a child on a picture walk through a book to find out the meaning of the book and how to help children recognize consonants and vowels," explains Teresa Irvin, project administrator and English and language arts coordinator with Kern County School Super-intendent's Office. "They learn how to guide the child's reading and help the child problem solve rather than offering the correct words."

Once trained, the volunteers spend one hour per week in the classroom, working with up to four children. At each school, program coordinators like NEA member Leslie Linney help the mentors settle in. "Many of the children in this program are in danger of falling behind their peers in reading. It's amazing how one hour a week can make a difference in kids' lives," says Linney.

For Ballard, accepting the mentors in her classroom every day was easy. "I know sometimes we teachers are reluctant to have someone in the room every day of the year, but when you realize these volunteers are there for the very same reason you are-to help the children learn-the transition is easy," she says.

"Each child spends time reading and bonding with the mentor," explains Ballard. "That scene is repeated with a different volunteer the next day and the next. By the end of the week, the student has spent time with five tutors who cared enough to help them read."

For her part, Ballard keeps the volunteers organized and on track with the reading. Three years into the project, she's thrilled with the results. "Each year I've had students who were two levels below the rest of the class at the beginning of the year and who brought their reading up to grade level," Ballard says. "I even had one child who was a 'select mute'-she didn't speak in first grade. But with the help of her reading coaches, she built up enough confidence and courage not only to speak, but also to read in front of the class.

"That's the mark of a good collaborative effort," she says. "It's all for the sake of the children."

--Anita Merina

You Can Do It, Too!

If you want to bring reading coaches into your classroom, you don't have to go far. Here are some tips and lessons learned from teachers and coaches.

Start with the research to make your case. Go to NEA's Read Across America website, www.nea.org/readacross for facts about children's literacy and suggested reading activities.

Contact your local newspaper, business, and Rotary or Kiwanis club. Many of these organizations are looking for opportunities to connect with local schools.

Don't forget NEA-Retired. Your local or state NEA-Retired affiliate wants to get involved, and NEA-Retired members make terrific reading volunteers.

Set up a sound training program for reading mentors complete with handbooks on coaching readers.

Organize materials for the mentors. Mentors are much more effective if they are well-trained and have materials ready to use.