Wilmington mayor John Carney’s office partnered with Reading Assist and Mrs. Wordsmith on a kids’ summer literacy program.
Only 40 percent of Delaware’s students grades 3-8 scored at or above their grade’s proficiency level in 2024, according to the statewide student assessment results.
Reading Assist’s senior director of external affairs and partnerships Emily Hershman said students need high quality, science-backed tutoring to see results.
“We're talking about 30 to 40 minutes a day with the same student seeing the same tutor so that they get that relationship and that rapport and that they see consistent measures of how this student is doing,” Hershman said. “And it takes a lot of effort, that's for sure. But we know that the impact is real.”
More than 85 percent of Reading Assist students improved their benchmark scores within a year of tutoring, according to the program’s data. Reading Assist has served 6 thousand students so far.
Hershman said folks at Reading Assist don’t expect to see those kinds of dramatic changes over one summer, but students have still made progress in their reading skills in previous summer programs.
Tutoring staff are a mix of volunteers and paid workers through an AmeriCorps program.
“Our school year fellows is what we call them – reading assist fellows who get about four weeks of intensive literacy training so that they are armed and ready to help support a student caseload of about 10 students during the school year through high dosage tutoring,” Hershman said.
Reading Assist has about 120 tutors total.
Hershman said reading during the summer is an opportunity to set students up for success during the school year.
“Collectively, we know our educators do so much work throughout the year,” Hershman said. “We know parents and guardians are on the case at home, but still, there are extra supports needed when it comes to literacy and to make sure that those students don't fall behind.”
Reading Assist seeks out the students performing at a 25 percent proficiency rate in reading. It largely works with students from kindergarten to third grade, Hershman said, but sometimes they have to help older students, too.
“I saw a student not too long ago, a 10 year old, who was still having some challenges in defining their letters and spelling their name,” Hershman said. “And that's a really difficult thing to experience.”
Hershman added there’s a literacy crisis statewide, and Reading Assist is helping the students struggling the most learning to read.
Parents and guardians can find more information on the summer program and Reading Assist’s other resources at their website.
