From Kern County Superintendent of Schools

How would you like to make an impact on the lives of second-grade students who are experiencing reading difficulties? You can by volunteering to tutor four students at a local school site for one hour-a-week in the fall 2010 semester of the Community Reading Project.

Research-based Community Reading Project is coordinated by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and funded by The United Way of Kern County and Kern Community Foundation. It trains and places volunteer tutors in classrooms in teams of five, so there is a different tutor for each weekday. This insures that students receive assistance every day of the school week. Each semester, approximately 265 volunteers tutor at 20 local school sites.

Community Reading Project does produce results. Since the program’s inception in 1999, student reading, as measured at the beginning and end of each semester of tutoring by the Slosson Oral Reading Test, has averaged 6 to 8 months of growth each semester.

Volunteer training for fall 2010 is required and involves only two hours. Those interested can choose between any of three training sessions on Aug. 25 from 3 to 5 p.m., Aug. 26 from 6 to 8 p.m. or Aug. 28 from 9 to 11 a.m., in room US 2 at University Square, 2000 K Street in Bakersfield. No pre-registration is necessary.

For more information, please contact Teresa Twisselman, coordinator English/Language Arts, at (661) 636-4645.