A private program that provides one-on-one tutoring for kids who need help learning to read will return to Tacoma schools next week.
The Read 2 Me program, founded in Tacoma in 1988 as Werlin Reading, was threatened with extinction earlier this year, after grants and corporate donations dropped during the recession.
But a merger with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Puget Sound helped save the program, which matches volunteer tutors with first- through third-graders who need extra help.
That’s the good news.
But the link to a new organization comes with a price.
Read 2 Me operated in 16 Tacoma schools last year. But this year, the reconstituted program will begin in only three schools: McCarver and Roosevelt elementary schools, and a third school yet to be determined.
“We would love to be in every school,” said Barbara James, who served as director of the old independent Read 2 Me program and who now runs the program for Big Brothers Big Sisters. But she said the program is trying to reboot, start small, and go where needs are greatest
“We hope that under the Big Brothers Big Sisters umbrella we can make this a model to take to other school districts,” James said.
The heart of the Read 2 Me program remains the same: adult volunteers receive training and background checks, then are sent to work for an hour a week helping kids who are behind in reading catch up. Each volunteer works with the same child, once a week throughout the school year.
Chuck Kirby, a Gig Harbor retiree, has been volunteering with the program for nine years. This year, both Chuck and his wife, Ann, will be working with children at McCarver.
He said he signed up for the program because he wanted to help kids who didn’t get a good start in life due to family struggles.
“For me, it’s a matter of fairness and justice,” he said. “Some of these kids really need encouragement. It’s something I can do.
“You sit down with a child and you see some of their needs are so great. It just breaks your heart. You want to be there for them.”
Brian Boyd, a Tacoma foundation director, is returning for his second year as a Read 2 Me tutor. He said he knew about the program for many years, and finally decided to volunteer last year at McCarver. He tutored a second-grader.
“I walked into the school and he comes running down the hall toward me and wraps his arms around me,” Boyd said. “He was eager to work and happy to see me. It was kind of like a dream moment.”
He said potential volunteers may have doubts about their ability to tutor or deal with student behavior issues. But he said once he joined Read 2 Me, any fears he may have had dissipated quickly.
“My experience was that the program is organized in such a way that within an hour, you have two to four specific tasks” to complete, he said. “It’s not too tricky to keep the kids focused.”
Boyd said his student started the school year last year behind in reading, but finished the year reading at the required grade level. He enjoyed seeing his student’s success recognized at an end-of-the-year school assembly.
“It sets them up for success, for moving forward,” he said.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
To learn more
To volunteer as a Read 2 Me tutor, or for more information about the program, call 253-396-9630 or visit www.bbbsps.org.
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