A program to help disadvantaged students improve their reading abilities is looking for volunteers as Tulsa moves into the thick of the school year.
Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist said more than 1,900 Tulsans gave their time to the Reading Partners program last year, and she’s hoping even more will volunteer this year to get young readers back on track.
"Summer learning loss is a very real thing, and it affects our city pretty intensely. There’s so much that has to happen during that school year, and our teachers can’t do it alone," Gist said. "They’re working so hard and they’re doing their very best, but we need the whole community to step up and be a part of it."
Gist said volunteers are even more valuable now that TPS needs to tighten its purse strings.
Reading Partners Tulsa started in 2013, serving 450 students. Last year, 1,700 students participated. Former Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor helped launch Reading Partners in Tulsa and said it makes a big difference.
"Some kids can make progress of two grades in a year if they have a reading partner on a weekly basis," Taylor said.
Volunteers spend at least an hour a week helping kindergarten through fourth-grade students at low-income schools improve their reading abilities. Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Christina da Silva said reading ability is a reliable indicator of future achievement, so getting low-income kids on the same level as their peers early is critical.
"Only 20% of students who are economically disadvantaged are proficient or advanced in reading, compared to 38% of students who are not economically disadvantaged," da Silva said.
Volunteers need no special training, but they must be 14 or older.
