Reading Assist is a local, one-on-one, high dosage tutoring program that targets at-risk students before they reach 4th grade.
And its success in Delaware is drawing $3.9 in federal funding to expand.
Working with local schools, the program identifies and helps kids in grades K-3 scoring in the lower 10% in terms of reading proficiency and provides instruction from an Americorps Reading Assist fellows in school and over the summer.
Between 2022 and 2023, 4th graders in Colonial School District’s Eisenberg Elementary saw a 21% increase in proficiency in ELA, and a 15% increase in math proficiency. There was also a 45% decrease in behavioral referrals, and a 46% decrease in truancy.
State Education Secretary Mark Holodick says results like that following the pandemic warrant expanding the program’s reach.
“I wish we saw this kind of growth at scale across the entire state. We’re not. We’re seeing some real positive growth in particular grade levels, in particular districts and schools. But this is real solid growth that Colonial should be proud of, and this is what we are aiming for across the board.”
During the current school year, statewide, 87% of the 661 students who worked with Reading Assist fellows for at least 3 months reached their benchmark in foundational reading skills.
The $1.3 million in funding each year for the next three years will support 100 additional Americorps Reading Assist fellows to expand the programs across the state and into Pennsylvania.
“It brings together people in a way that is driven and funded and informed at the local level to meet locally identified needs,” said Senator Chris Coons.
Reading Assist is the first Delaware-based operation to receive Americorps national direct funding.
The Pennsylvania expansion will start in Chester, where there is a high need for intensive reading support.
