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"It is so important—and so
urgent—that we bring together children who are learning to sound out
words with volunteers who will listen to them, and praise them when
they do it right. That's how a lifetime of success gets started, and
how a lifetime of frustration and failure is averted."
—Governor Gary Locke |
The Washington Reading Corps (WRC) AmeriCorps
team-based program is proud to be a part of the Skagit County Community
Action Agency. The mission of the Washington Reading Corps is to improve
reading abilities of K-6 students across Washington State. This is achieved
through research-based tutoring of struggling readers and effective
collaborations among schools, families, community members, National Service,
businesses and state partners.
Locally, the team is comprised of over thirty
AmeriCorps*USA & AmeriCorps*VISTA members who dedicate a year of service to
their communities in elementary schools across Skagit and Whatcom Counties.
Members provide one-on-one and small group intervention to struggling
readers, recruit community volunteer tutors, plan family literacy events,
and raise funds for the schools’ reading programs. The staff of the
Washington Reading Corps is made up of Quinn Slayton, Program Coordinator,
and Erin King-Luce, Team Leader. These two dedicated staff members of the
SCCAA support the WRC team by providing training, advocacy, guidance,
evaluation, and professional development opportunities to the members, and
by establishing valuable relationships with school staff, local businesses,
and state partners. This year, the WRC will provide over 50,000 hours of
service to over 800 students in the community!
The most effective piece of the WRC is the
positive learning relationship that students gain from working one-on-one
with a tutor. A recent success story from one of our tutors:
“I was informed by my colleague
and a teacher at the school that Maria (not her real name) was very quiet in
class…She was frightened of reading unfamiliar books and when I asked her
what kind of books she read she quietly stated, “Spanish ones.” When I heard
that her family predominately spoke Spanish at home, I wanted to find a way
to incorporate her experience with learning English into our work together.
While tutoring, I started asking her what some of the words in the story
were in Spanish, and after a while she voluntarily translated them for me. A
more reciprocal relationship emerged from these interactions …After working
together a few weeks, her voice became louder, and she was more willing to
read and talk about her family. Her reading teacher later approached me in
the classroom and said that Maria was coming along very well in class and
thanked me for my work with her. She had gotten up and read in front of the
class that day!”
If you are interested in
fostering a love of reading in a child, then you can become an AmeriCorps*USA
or AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Washington Reading Corps. We are currently
accepting applications for the 2007-2008 school year. For more information
about serving with the WRC, visit our website
www.geocities.com/skagitwrc or contact the WRC at
wrcrecruitment@skagitcap.org or (360) 416-7585.
