Washington Reading Corps: Impacts of National Service and the ...

Liberty ElementaryBackgroundLiberty is in Spangle, a town of 250 residents located 30 miles south of Spokane. Theelementary school and connected junior high sit among wheat fields, next door to the highschool. An old liberty bell hangs under the school sign, welcoming those who pull into the smallcomplex. Students attend the school from several surrounding counties, since the districtincorporates several rural towns and some growing suburban areas of Spokane. Ninety-ninepercent of the students ride a bus to school, with some having a bus ride of more than an hourone way.Thirty-three percent of the students at Liberty qualify for free or reduced meals. Of the 270students in the elementary school, about 50 are in the Washington Reading Corps. While all K-6 grades are served, most of the students receiving WRC services are in first or second grade.These students are described as “borderline”—not quite qualifying for Title 1 and other specialprograms, but in need of some assistance.The motivation for applying for the Reading Corps grant was described by the principal as aneed to push and reach the borderline kids in order to boost them to success. Test scores hadbeen low for several years, and the school had been looking for opportunities to increase them.WRC funds were used to purchase a reading curriculum.Program LogisticsPatti Khusro, the AmeriCorps member at the school, works with teachers, communitymembers, and cross-age tutors. Liberty is serving approximately 50 Reading Corps studentsthis year. Twenty-five percent of these WRC students were in the Reading Corps last year. Theother 75 percent from last year did so well that they no longer need the WRC.Teachers initially refer students to the WRC and these students are then tested using the WRCstatewide tests (CBM and the Slosson), administered by the AmeriCorps member. The readingspecialist also gives the WRC students a classroom test three times a year.Students are tutored 2-3 times each week for 30 minutes. Teachers decide the best time forstudents to leave the class. Often this is during Reading, as the students are not up to level withthe rest of the class instruction, or sometimes it is during P.E. There has been some fluctuation inthe tutors, but Patti works the schedule to ensure that the students continue to receive one-ononeassistance.Students in the WRC received permission from their parents to participate. A few parentsdenied permission at first but then changed their mind and agreed once the program was furtherexplained. Teachers at the school have observed that parents of WRC students are starting to9