One to One: Practicing Reading with Students

About One to One

What is One to One: Practicing Reading with Students?

The ability to read is at the heart of learning. By high school, 85 percent of the curriculum is delivered to students through the written word, leaving those who do not read well at an often permanent disadvantage. Reading is so fundamental that the federal government several years ago launched a national campaign to raise reading achievement among the youngest learners, and to ensure that every child can read at grade level by his or her 9th birthday.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the law which contains sweeping changes in the federal government's role in education, has established two new programs, Reading First and Early Reading First, aimed at ensuring that all children in the early grades have the reading skills they need.

The Partnership for Successful Schools, a coalition of Kentucky businesses, educational groups, and government officials, believes that business has both a stake and a role to play in helping children learn to read. It has developed One to One: Practicing Reading with Students.

One to One is more than a reading program. It provides a business with the support and resources it needs to start a volunteer program in a local elementary school, trains its employees to work one-on-one helping children with their reading, keep informed on the most recent reading test data, and use that data to make decisions in local communities.

One to One was designed to maximize resources for the schools and students and for the business and its employees who volunteer to coach. Reading practice sessions are presented in focused 35-minute slots; coaches receive step-by-step instructions on how to maximize every minute of that time to help students practice the vital skill of reading. Businesses and their volunteer coaches will receive continuing support through this Web site, which provides updated testing data and coaching tips.

This project is different than other literacy programs in a number of ways: it uses and helps volunteers understand test data. It is based on research on how children learn, using a number of teaching practitioners as technical advisors including the director of the Kentucky Early Literacy Project. It focuses on young learners, elementary school students in the primary grades (kindergarten through grade 4) who are struggling with reading and who can benefit most from focused reading practice with an adult volunteer.

What's new in One to One?

coming soon...