NEW ULM - Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) is expanding into Jefferson Elementary School next year, to assist with K-3 literacy tutoring.
MRC, an AmeriCorps program, recruits and trains members to provide extra support for children who are at risk for not reading at their grade level.
Pam Kirsch, Jefferson Elementary School principal, submitted an application, requesting that MRC members be placed at the school.
The application was approved, and because of the size of the school, it was approved for two full-time positions, Kirsch said.
Kirsch says the volunteers will be working individually with students in grades K-3 who are at risk of falling behind their grade level in reading, yet do not qualify for special education services or the Title I program (a federal program that helps develop basic skills).
The MRC members will do 10- to 20-minute direct interventions, working with 15-20 students daily, explained Kirsch.
She sees this effort as taking place in conjunction with, and as complementing, similar ongoing literacy efforts - especially RTi, a program based on short reading "probes" and targeted "interventions" which is in its forth year locally, and with other programs at the school.
"I feel this is going to be a pivotal year for us," Kirsch said. "This is pulling it all together - the special ed, the Title I, the kids that don't qualify for services..."
MRC places volunteers as a classroom member, working in classrooms of children ages 3 to 5 to help them develop early literacy skills in preparation for kindergarten; a literacy tutor, who works one-on-one with children in kindergarten through third grade; or a volunteer coordinator, who is placed in an elementary school to recruit, train and manage volunteers. Members receive extensive training and are equipped with effective literacy instruction methods.
MRC recruits applicants for positions in the schools it selects, and then applicants go through an approval and interview process with both MRC staff and the principal at each site.
With two full-time positions sponsored by MRC, Jefferson will have three actual persons, one full-time and two part-time. The people hired include a retired person, a parent volunteer and a graduate student pursuing a master's degree.
The three have gone though summer training and will be going through more training during the year, provided by an MRC coach and an internal coach assigned by Kirsch.
In 2008-09, MRC placed a record 367 members in 161 schools across the state, the organization says.
But the need for trained tutors continues to increase, MRC officials said. To help ensure that all of the state's children are on track to read, MRC increased its recruitment goal to more than 500 in 2009-10.
Full-time and part-time positions have been announced around the state, including elementary schools, HeadStart programs, community preschools and early childhood family education (ECFE) classrooms.
In addition to Jefferson, reading tutors have been approved for other area schools, including Sleepy Eye and Sibley East.
MRC members commit to a year of service that begins in August. In addition to receiving hands-on experience, MRC AmeriCorps members earn up to $4,725 in vouchers to pay for college or to pay back federal student loans; a modest living allowance; and, for full-time members, health insurance. Members can also defer federal student loans while they serve. MRC members surveyed frequently report that their career plans have been positively influenced by their service.