Seymour Middle School is in need of adult volunteers to help students improve their reading skills and confidence.
Through the Read SMS program, students are paired with a tutor and spend around 45 minutes once a week during the school day working together on a student’s reading fluency and comprehension.
Tutors are trained through READ Jackson County, which provides reading materials that help guide each session.
The training can be completed in less than an hour.
“I tell people if they have sat down and read with a child before, they can do this,” said Matt Nicholson, executive director of READ Jackson County.
Teacher Robin Ramp said she has enjoyed the partnership with READ Jackson County for the past decade, first when she was a teacher for Seymour High School’s alternative education program.
“Initially, READ Jackson County provided some materials and guidance for my older students in the alternative program as (the organization’s) primary focus was adult literacy,” she said.
When she transferred to SMS eight years ago, they worked together to launch Read SMS.
“Tutoring is really a form of coaching,” she said. “Tutors listen to the kids read and provide gentle guidance and feedback.”
After reading the provided user-friendly material, there are questions for the student to answer to develop comprehension skills, and students who need extra support have the opportunity to review sight words, or commonly used words that children memorize by sight.
The number of students receiving benefits from Read SMS depends on the number of volunteers.
“Typically, we serve five to eight students each year,” Ramp said. “Students are selected based on teacher observation and performance on reading assessments.”
Ramp said the program targets students, mostly in seventh grade, who don’t have access to other reading supports at school or at home.
The impact of the program has been measurable and impressive with students improving their reading by one to two grade levels in a nine-month period, Ramp said.
Students also tend to show improved grades, she added.
But her favorite result is the confidence students develop both in their reading and in themselves.
So why does Read SMS work?
Because practice and shared reading experiences with adults are critical to skill development, Ramp said.
“The Read SMS program is designed to provide that for students,” she said.
No teaching experience is needed to become a Read SMS tutor, just a willingness to work with middle school-aged students and a passion for literacy.
“Our tutors come from all walks of life,” Ramp said. “We’ve had retirees, stay-at-home parents and tutors with full-time jobs.”
Tutors need to be available for an hour a week between the hours of 8:45 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“We ask for a one-year commitment,” Ramp said.
She said she appreciates the time and effort volunteer tutors and READ Jackson County invest in her students.
“Literacy is essential to success in so many areas of life,” she said.
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To sign up to become a reading tutor for the Read SMS program, call Matt Nicholson at 812-528-6319 or email [email protected].
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