Students in the Dubuque Community School District who worked with reading tutors from the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning program built relationships and worked hard to improve their reading proficiency. Looking back on their work over the last school year, the results show a positive impact on reading proficiency.
According to results of the DIBELS assessment, 67 percent of students who worked with an AmeriCorps member 30 times or more over the course of the 2014-2015 school year increased their composite reading score. Attendance was also positively impacted through the AmeriCorps mentoring, with 96 percent of the same students attending school at a 90 percent or greater attendance rate.
“Most importantly, this partnership is yielding positive results for students,” said Lynne Devaney, associate superintendent of the Dubuque Community School District. “Reading success starts in school and is supported at home and throughout the community. The partnership between AmeriCorps, the City and the district is an example of how supporting reading on many fronts impacts students.”
In the fall 2014, 27 AmeriCorps members were trained by the Dubuque Community School District on specific reading interventions which aligned with the district’s curriculum. AmeriCorps members were then placed as academic reading tutors in 11 elementary schools and assigned students who were considered struggling readers according to their fall 2014 DIBELS score. Guided by the elementary school instructional coaches, teachers and staff, AmeriCorps members supplemented and supported classroom instruction throughout the school year.
“We’re excited about the results from our first year and our looking forward to having AmeriCorps academic tutors continue this impact during the 2015-2016 school year,” said Mary Bridget Corken-Deutsch, Americorps Program Director. “This strategic partnership with the Dubuque Community School District has produced significant gains for students in the Dubuque community and AmeriCorps is proud to be a part of that.”
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning, which has been in Dubuque since 2000, is sponsored by the City of Dubuque. In 2014-2015, Partners in Learning rewrote its grant application to support Dubuque’s Campaign for Grade-Level Reading. The group was awarded $210,581 in federal grant dollars to assist schools in improving student’s grade level reading proficiency. If interested in becoming an Academic Reading Tutor for the 2015-2016 school year, please contact Mary Bridget at 563-584-8644.