Middle School Reading Program
Middle school is a critical time for developing literacy skills. It’s a time when students shift their focus from learning to read to using reading to learn. Strengthening reading skills now will help assure future success in high school and beyond. The E3 Literacy Partners program is a joint partnership of the Corvallis School District, the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition, the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation and E3: Employers for Education Excellence. It has made a difference in the lives of more than 80 sixth graders at Linus Pauling Middle School and Cheldelin Middle School since its start in 2006.
How Literacy Partners works . . .
Volunteer mentors from the local business community are paired with boys and girls who are “on the edge” when it comes to meeting the state’s reading benchmarks. Each mentor is asked to spend 45 minutes a week reading with their student and leading them through simple reading exercises prepared by teachers. Volunteers pick the day and time that works best for them to meet with their student and sometimes, they enlist a colleague to partner with them in the program. The partner can serve as an occasional substitute reader or the two volunteers can take turns reading with their student.
The results . . .
Though most elementary students meet Oregon’s reading standards, by the time they reach eighth grade less than 70 percent do. By receiving the kind of one-one attention Literacy Partners provides, struggling students can make huge strides toward improving their reading fluency and comprehension. Among the students that have participated so far, two-thirds of them met or surpassed state reading standards as a sixth grader even though few of them met the standards as fifth graders. The average gain on state assessments during sixth grade is at least double the annual growth goal for reading comprehension and fluency.
Business partners . . .
The following companies’ employees are currently participating in the E3 Literacy Partners program or have participated in the past:
ATS-automation Systems Group West
AVI Biopharma
Blue Sky Morning
Borders Books
Central Willamette Community Credit Union
Citizens Bank
Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition
Corvallis Gazette-Times
Country Financial
Downtown Corvallis Association
Edge Design
Fewel Brewer & Coulombe Attorneys
Healthletics Chiropractic
Hewlett-Packard
Info Management Solutions
Minor Miracles
OSU Federal Credit Union
Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Samaritan Health Services
Windermere Realty
Testimonials . . .
What a pleasure it was to work with my reading partner, Fausto. During the school year, he demonstrated a growing ability and confidence in his reading skills and he went from a desire to only read silently to one of enjoyment. I was particularly impressed with Fausto's ability to track the story and remember key points while working with the tactical points of grammar, syntax, and punctuation. At one point, he blew me away with his foreshadowing of a major plot twist. I truly hope for Fausto and all his classmates that there continues to be an interest in not just reading but in the enjoyment of good literature. I believe the E-3 program goes a long way to make that outcome a reality.
David Low (OSU Federal Credit Union)
My student and I read mysteries and it really rekindled my interest in mysteries. It was really interesting when we read together. When we wondered what would happen next, we didn’t always anticipate the same things. And then, she was usually right . . . !
Lori Soutar (Hewlett-Packard)
It was really fun reading with them because they’re so nice. And they’re really good readers too.
Kimberly (Sixth grader at Cheldelin Middle School
mentored by Julie Manning of Samaritan Health
Services and Deborah Adams of Good Samaritan
Regional Medical Center)
“It’s hard for a student who struggles with reading to keep working at it every day. But I’ve seen that the ones who are participating in the Literacy Partners program are willing to do it if they get to meet with someone each week that shows such interest in them. That one-on-one relationship is very powerful to kids.”
Lisa Harlan (Principal, Cheldelin Middle School)
“Books: Not just for old folks” – Gazette-Times newspaper column by Jake Tenpas
How to sign up . . .
Volunteers may sign up for the Literacy Partners program by filling out an online form available on the Corvallis Public Schools Foundation Web site or the Web site of the Corvallis-Benton Chamber Coalition. Each applicant must agree to a criminal background check conducted by the school district.
Reading partners are recruited throughout the year but ideally, mentor-student assignments are made in early October. Volunteers go through an initial training session and are supervised during the school year by a Literacy Partner coordinator at each school.
For more information
Call or e-mail . . .
Fred Kane 766-4856 fredrick.kane@corvallis.k12.or.us
Geoff Penrose (CMS) 757-5996 geoff.penrose@corvallis.k12.or.us
Trevor Flaherty (LPMS) 757-5776 trevor.flaherty@corvallis.k12.or.us
