LITERACY: Clark County reads

Volunteers give students personal attention

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By LAUREN ROMANO

VIEW STAFF WRITER

Clark County READS is trying to stop illiteracy before it starts with its Reading Partner Program.

The program matches trained volunteers with elementary school children who are having a hard time keeping up with their reading.

READS material references studies that show children who spend time reading with adults tend to read more on their own.

"There is a one-time, two-hour orientation," said Brittany Prager, assistant program manager. "It focuses on what we want the volunteer to focus on when they are working one-on-one in the schools."

The training includes basic techniques to improve children's fluency, comprehension and enjoyment of reading.

Volunteers typically commit to working with struggling readers for an hour each week, for at least 10 weeks. In most schools the volunteer works with two students for a half hour each.

Students are recommended to the program by their school's literacy specialist. Parents and teachers can speak to the specialist about finding a volunteer.

"We try to emphasize this is not story hour. We don't want volunteers to think they are going to come and read to kids. We encourage the kids to read," said Marilyn Sweeney, a reading volunteer.

Sweeney, who works with all the READS programs in the office became a volunteer at the beginning of the 2005-06 school year.

"I was working at READS and I was so in love with the program I thought why can't I bring this to my daughter's school," Sweeney said.

Her daughter teaches first grade at Bendorf Elementary School, 3550 Kevin Street.

Sweeney said she has noticed a tremendous difference in her first grade readers at Bendorf.

"At the beginning J.J. did not want to do this at all," she said. "He would ask, 'can I go back.' "

Now J.J. Mendoza, 7, said he loves to read and his favorite stories are Dr. Seuss' "Foot Book" and "Hop on Pop."

"At the first meeting (students) might feel intimidated," Sweeney said. "We try to make reading fun."

Prager said although the program works with students from first through fifth grade most of their students are from the younger grade levels.

Volunteers, who must be 18 years old and older, can request a school to work with and that school's literacy specialist will be notified there is someone available. When new volunteers get started if a school has asked for a reading partner a school can be suggested.

"We have a lot of college aged students and retirees as volunteers," Prager said.

READS material indicates every school has struggling readers who can benefit from one-on-one reading attention from volunteers.

Almost 1,400 volunteers have been trained since the program started in May 2001. They have been placed in 120 schools around the valley.

"We find that a lot of struggling readers don't have that one-on-one at home," Prager said.

Volunteer and student reading is always done during school hours between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Parents are notified before children begin working with the volunteers.

"We get calls from parents but the schools make the decision where we go," Prager said.

Clark County READS is a program of the Public Education Foundation in partnership with Clark County, Clark County School District and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

For more information on Clark County READS, call 799-5247 or visit www.clarkcountyreads.org.