My community project centers on empowering adolescents through effective education. Reading is a fundamental part of a student’s education. Schools are full of competent teachers, but many students need extra help, or attention outside the classroom in order to understand school work and succeed. 

I was inspired to research this project when I learned of the AmericaReads and AmericaCounts programs. These programs are funded by Federal Work Study dollars. College students apply for Work Study, and once they are accepted, they are employed at various jobs. AmericaReads and AmericaCounts provide training for college students, who are then sent to local elementary and junior high schools to tutor students in reading and mathematics. My first reaction was that junior high students should know how to read, but I soon realized the power of the word “should.” I assumed instead of researching the facts.

Up to this point, through my research and my experience at my internship at a local junior high school, I have realized the necessity of going back to the basics and making sure junior high students know how to read and perform basic math skills. It is an extensive problem, as one junior high teacher told me, “It’s possible some 75% of our students read below grade level.” 

As part of my project, I hoped to find out more information about the AmericaReads and AmericaCounts programs. Secondly, I wanted to see if the participants in these programs could come to tutor some of the many students who need extra assistance at my internship. This would be a free service to the students, and to the participating school, as the tutors would be paid through the Federal Work Study Program. Finally, I wanted to have information to present to parents whose children may be struggling with basic math or reading. This information may be in handing them a brochure about possible tutors in the area, or a list of schools that do participate in AmericaReads and AmericaCounts and how someone may enroll their child in the program. 

Statement of Need

Interning at a junior high school gave me first hand experience of the need to provide extra educational and academic support to students who lack basic reading and math skills. Teachers at my internship are very experienced, but they often cannot provide the one-on-one assistance to help a student “catch-up” if they have fallen behind in skill level. April 2000 STAR testing results for the Chico Unified school district revealed 29% of seventh graders were below basic or far below basic for their grade level in English (STAR, 2000). Twenty eight percent of eighth graders were below or far below basic for their grade level. For second to sixth grade, percentages ranged from 26% to 40% below or far below basic grade level. For students at my internship specifically, numbers were about the same with 28% and 24% of seventh and eighth graders, respectively, scoring below their grade level (STAR, 2000). 

A junior high Resource teacher stated she believes there is a strong correlation between students who come from low-income families, with very little academic support, and those with low academic skills. Providing a free college aged tutor for these students would be ideal, as these families could not likely afford a tutor, and the tutor could serve also as a mentor. A teacher who teaches a Remedial Reading class for 8th graders explained she has seen the skills of students decrease over the years. A Resource teacher’s aid stated that it is really hard for teachers to give extra time for students who need it. She also stated that the percentage of students who read below grade level is lower than anyone would like to believe. A couple teachers believed that students’ scores have decreased over the years. One teacher said that when she began teaching 15 years ago, the lowest skilled math students were dealing with ratios and percentages. Now the lowest math students do not know their multiplication tables. A seventh grade Remedial Reading teacher stated that she has tested many of her students. At the beginning of the year, many students tested at a second or third grade reading level (Personal Communication, 2001).

These testimonies support the idea that intervention needs to occur in the area of reading and math for elementary and junior high students. An effective tutoring program would only be the tip of the iceberg. Intervention needs to take place at the youngest age possible. This AmericaReads or AmericaCounts project may appear to interest those in the teaching profession rather than social work, however, school social workers spend a large portion of their time dealing with students struggling with academics. The issue of learning disabilities, parental involvement, and family income and dynamics, all play a part in the education of a child that social workers need to address (Schulman, 1999). I am interested in this issue as a social worker and as an intern school counselor because students struggling with academics frequently have background issues that effect their academic skills. As social workers, it is our job to look at the big picture, to consider the environmental impact on our clients.

Description of the Intervention

AmericaReads is a federally funded government grant awarded to colleges and universities to pay 100% of the wages of students, who qualify for Work Study, when they tutor elementary students with reading. President Bill Clinton instituted this program in 1997. In 1998, Pres. Clinton, stated that 40% of the nations 8 year olds are not reading at grade level, and that students who don’t read well by the third grade are more likely to drop out of school (Clinton, 1997). His original objective was to see every student in the U.S. reading well by the 8th grade. Clinton later added that he wanted to see every 8 year-old read independently by the year 2000 (Clinton, 1999). In 1997-1998, UCLA documented significant improvements in literacy skills after implementing the AmericaReads program. In 1999, this program was extended to include Family Literacy Programs. AmericaCounts began in the 1999-2000 school year as a similar program. AmericaCounts involves tutoring students up through grade nine in math. Colleges and Universities across the country are now required to use at least 7% of Work Study dollars to pay students involved in community service activities such as AmericaReads and AmericaCounts. Every university must also have at least one work study recipient tutoring in an elementary school (AmericaReads Challenge Homepage, n.d.).

Evaluation of the Intervention

The effectiveness of AmericaReads and AmericaCounts is hard to prove statistically. Each college or university may prepare their college aged tutors differently. However, there are numerous accounts of students who have profited from having a regular tutor assist them one-on-one. Chico State can handle between 70 and 90 tutors in the AmericaReads program per semester. Most of these tutors are education majors (Personal Communication, 2001). I would like to see more social work majors involve themselves in the school system through this program.

Willa Reinhard was an NYU student who began assisting a second grade boy through AmericaReads. I read her emotional story about not only helping this boy learn to read, but protecting him from the taunts and teasing of his peers about his inability (Reinhard, 1998).

An article in an issue of Human Events by Phyllis Schlafly was titled “AmericaReads Project is Presidential Phony.” Yet, in her attempts to disprove the program, I found fascinating statistics by the Washington Literacy Council claiming that the illiteracy rate in the United States is increasing (Schlafly, 1997).

I continued researching how my internship has attacked this growing problem. In speaking with four teachers, I found there was an agreement that somewhere between 30% and 75% of students can not read at grade level. This is a wide range, but it is difficult to assess, as the entire student body is not tested at the same time. I learned that teachers and staff are working hard to help any student who is struggling, but there are too many students to help individually.

Reflections on the Project

My personal involvement came in the form of researching AmericaReads and AmericaCounts. I had hoped to connect my internship to AmericaCounts, but found that Chico State only participates in AmericaReads. I would like to see the AmericaCounts program begin at CSU, Chico, but applying for, and employing people to organize the program would take more than one or two semesters. I intend to continue to encourage those who are in charge of the AmericaReads program at Chico State to seriously look into adding AmericaCounts. I also began tutoring students at my internship after school and during classes. Often times, teachers would let me take one or more students out of class and give them some personalized assistance. I truly enjoyed this and it encouraged me to continue working as a school counselor. Finally, I am continuing to create a list of low or no cost tutoring and mentoring programs available to students and families in the area who could use the extra assistance. 

References

AmericaReads Challenge Homepage. (n.d.). Retrieved April, 2002. Internet address: http://www.ed.gov./inits/americareads 

Clinton, W. (1997). Remarks on AmericaReads initiative. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Pages 1622-1625.

Clinton, W. (1999). Statement of funding for reading programs. Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. Page 1629.

Reinhard, W. (1998). Being a tutor, it’s a snap, right? The Christian Science-Monitor. Page B7.

Schulman, L. (1999). The skills of helping individuals, families, groups, and communities. Itasca, Ill: F.E. Peacock Publishers, Inc.

Schlafly, P. (1997). AmericaReads project is presidential phony. Journal of Human Events. Page 17.
STAR: Standardized Testing and Reporting Program. (2000). CA State Board of Education.

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