In the AmeriCorps room at Cherry Creek Elementary School, a tutor sits at a table with a student. They are huddled over a sheet, taking turns saying the words in a line of text. Known as a duet, it’s one of ten strategies used by the Reading Corps to improve literacy skills among early elementary students.
The Reading Corps is in its second year at Lowell Area Schools, and its work could be more important than ever now that a new state law is in place. Starting in 2020, third grade students who test a grade level behind in the state’s English language assessment may be held back to repeat the grade.
However, educators at Lowell Area Schools say they are working hard to ensure all students have the resources needed to be successful, and the Reading Corps is helping them meet that goal.
Bringing the Reading Corps to Michigan
This is only the second year for the Reading Corps in Lowell, but the program has been used successfully elsewhere for approximately 15 years. It originated in a rural school district in Minnesota.
“It caught the attention of a [Minnesota] legislator at the time,” says Holly Windram, executive director of the Michigan Education Corps (MEC) at Hope Network, the non-profit that administers the program in Michigan. “The data was so powerful.”
However, the program relies on intensive one-on-one tutoring which meant it wasn’t cheap to implement. The Minnesota program overcame that problem by tapping into AmeriCorps and using trained volunteers from the national service program. Today, Minnesota has 1,500 tutors working one-on-one with 30,000 students.
With a track record of success in Minnesota, the Reading Corps has begun to expand elsewhere, and Michigan became the first state to replicate the program in 2012. Windram says it started with four schools in West Michigan, and then a $1 million grant from the state allowed it to add additional districts, including Lowell.
Grant Helps Cover Costs
“Actually, Lowell choose us,” Windram says when asked how Lowell came to be included in the Reading Corps. At an event for educators, Hope Network shared information about the program, and Nate Fowler, now the district’s curriculum director, expressed an interest.
“We thought, wow, what an opportunity to have one-on-one instruction [for students],” says Shelli Otten, principal of Cherry Creek Elementary School. “We see so much value in their work.”
The Lowell Community Foundation agreed and awarded Hope Network a $10,000 grant to offset the program costs in Lowell this year. Otten says the school district pays only a nominal cost to have the tutors in the building.
How Reading Corps Works
For the 2017-2018 school year, the Reading Corps is providing seven tutors to Lowell Area Schools. Three are assigned to preschool classrooms while the other seven are assisting students in grades K-3.
Each school building has an internal coach who helps identify students to participate in the program. At Cherry Creek, that job falls to Jackie Krygier. “The tutors themselves go through extensive training,” she says. Her role is to provide any needed support, help monitor progress and identify new students once an existing student exits the program. “The goal is that they test out and graduate.”
“It’s not a curriculum,” Windram says. “It’s a strategy.” Tutors are assigned students and then meet with them every day for 20 minutes to practice reading skills. “Tutors have to be the kids every day for maximum effectiveness,” Windram explains. That time is in addition to their classroom reading and English instruction. Every 4-6 weeks, a master coach meets with the internal coach to check progress.
Windram says students are in Reading Corps for an average of 14 weeks although it can vary. She adds that one unique component of Reading Corps is how it selects students for participation. “The goal with our K-3 program is to catch first those who are just below grade level,” she says.
Once those kids are boosted to grade level, tutors move on to students who may need more help. Otten says the elementary school has other interventions for students who are well-below grade level and not chosen for Reading Corps. Currently, Cherry Creek Elementary has 25 students participating in the Reading Corps program.
Encouraging Families to Read at Home
Back in the Cherry Creek classroom, two trees fashioned from brown paper adorn the bulletin boards. One is for the second grade Reading Corps students, and one is for the third grade Reading Corps students. Otten explains that students have been engaged in a little friendly competition to see which tree will have all its leaves turn from green to autumn colors first.
To do that, students are asked to participate in some short reading exercises at home. When their parents sign off on the activity, students are able to flip one green leaf to show its more colorful side. “A lot of times, the first thing they do is to look at the trees,” says tutor Chris Pacliber of when a student enters the room. Once all the leaves have been turned, they will start dropping from the branches next.
“It’s a lot of positive reinforcement,” Krygier says of the tutors’ methods. “They are so dedicated and so professional.”
Paclibar and Aislynn Wallace are both on their second year as MEC tutors with the Reading Corps program. Both are getting ready to pursue graduate degrees and volunteering for AmeriCorps provides them with an award to use toward their education. “I am planning to earn my master’s in library science,” says Wallace, who also volunteers for the YMCA after school programs.
“I liked that it was evidence-based,” Paclibar says when asked what she likes about the program. “We have a data management system where we can see student progress.”
Students seem to like the program too. After Paclibar passed out a sticker to Izzy for meeting her daily goals, it was time for the student to head back to her classroom. However, before she left the room, she had this to say about her time with her tutor: “I like it because I can become a better reader.”
That’s why Otten and Krygier and thousands of other educators and parents across Minnesota and Michigan like the Reading Corps too. And with the state’s new reading law, getting students extra help for literacy is a bigger priority than ever.
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