Substantial administrative costs will continue to be covered by host colleges. Specially trained tutors will focus on reading to children and retelling stories as critical intervention strategies for at-risk kindergarten and first grade students, as identified by their teachers. Numerous experimental studies support the link between story retelling as a regular classroom practice and increased student performance in reading. Importantly, this program design is aligned with the statewide DRA, which focuses on silent reading and the retelling of stories. External funding from the Northeast and Islands Regional Laboratory will support the design, implementation and assessment of this pilot project.
Preliminary conversations are already underway with likely candidates.
Veteran American Reads tutors will be selected for additional training that focuses on story retelling as a key intervention strategy to both develop and assess comprehension. Tutors will be assigned one or two children with whom they will meet a minimum of three times per week for six months. Children will be assessed after the six-month intervention for possible gains in the length, accuracy and completeness of their retellings. Every Reading Partner receives a book bag full of strategies and materials for use during time on site. These materials were selected and developed in consultation with literacy experts from around the State.