Find out more here.(From the FREEP)
The Detroit Free Press, in partnership with Detroit Public Schools, in December called for citizens to volunteer 100,000 hours collectively to tutor reading in DPS schools.
The Call to Action for a new Reading Corps comes on the heels of recent test scores that showed Detroit schoolchildren ranked the lowest in the nation of participants on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math test.
In terms of performance levels in the fourth grade in Detroit on the math test, 69 percent of students scored at a below basic level. In terms of performance levels in the eighth grade in Detroit, 77 percent were below basic. (from the DPA website). Student reading scores are similarly below basic level.
So far over 4600 people have volunteered to assist third graders in reading. That amounts to one tutor for every child. The volunteers come from the city and from every suburb surrounding it. Yesterday's Detroit Free Press listed the names of all the volunteers, which took many pages.
Volunteers must undergo a background and fingerprint check, be trained and donate an hour a week to two children. Every attempt is made to accommodate personal schedules and locations.
Maybe this program will also serve to bring Detroit and its suburbs together for other joint projects, bringing Detroit back from the abyss it's become.
This is one of those days when I am proud to be from Detroit. If you're proud to be from Detroit too, go to the website and learn how you can help.
8 comments:
My daughter is doing a variation of this in Boston for AmeriCorps. Her job to pair up students with poor reading skills and older volunteers. The goal is to improve the students' reading. Obviously, the volunteers receive the satisfaction of seeing students improve with their help.
You must be very proud, George. I need to be paired up with driving before I can pair up with this.
Somebody please explain the connection between the low math scores and the reading project? What did I miss?
Many students perform poorly in Math because they also have poor reading skills, Rick. They can't read and understand the math problems. You have to improve both the reading skills and math skills to have a positive effect on performance.
Thanks, George. I should have added that--also more people can teach a child to read than teach math. Me, for one.
One tutor per child?! That's incredible. I'd be proud to be from Detroit too!
Just waiting on the completion of the BG check. I understand they want everything up and running this month.
From a personal standpoint it will be nice to be with kids who, unlike the young ladies I work with a couple of times a week, will not argue with me over every piece of punctuation and word placement.
RICHARD ROBINSON: The math portion of the NEAP test requires reading and comprehension. Some problems are stated in story form and some have a words such as fractals and binomials in them and if a student can't read well they have a hard time comprehending the math.
Literacy is a basic function of every subject in education.
Great, Mark. I am proud to know you.
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