The city of Phoenix and AARP Experience Corps are partnering to help Phoenix children become better readers and give older adults the opportunity to be a part of a child’s success story.
AARP Experience Corps is a national program that engages older Americans in young students’ lives through literacy tutoring.
The Phoenix branch of the program will begin this fall in hand-picked schools in four different Phoenix school districts including Tolleson, Fowler, Riverside and Phoenix. The city and AARP Experience Corps are looking at schools where “the reading gap is more significant than in other places,” said Phoenix Deputy Chief of Staff Seth Scott.
“When a child falls behind, that’s an indication for their success later on,” Scott said. Studies have shown that students that don’t read as well early on are less likely to graduate high school, or if they do graduate, stay in college.
Only 64 percent of Arizona fourth graders currently read at basic grade level, according to a news release from Mayor Greg Stanton.
AARP Experience Corps spokeswoman Deb Jaquith said the program has been highly effective in each of the other 19 cities nationwide.
“They’re improving (the kids’) confidence and behavior in the classroom,” Jaquith said.
Other benefits of the program include 60 percent gains in literacy skills and reports of improved teacher and principal satisfaction, according to studies at Johns Hopkins University and Washington University in St. Louis. Students can jump two grade levels in reading, Scott said.
However, it’s not just students reaping the benefits.
“Our volunteers have cognitive benefits after just one year in the program,” Jaquith said. They also report a stronger sense of purpose, she added.
The adults of the baby boomer generation are valuable to young students, said Sara Bresnahan, Phoenix Elementary School District No. 1 community and public relations director. Bresnahan said it’s exciting to see how they benefit Phoenix elementary schools.
“I don’t know a school district that couldn’t use some help with literacy,” she said.
The AARP Experience Corps isn’t the first city of Phoenix-sponsored literacy program. Mayor Greg Stanton started Read On Phoenix last June in an effort to improve literacy in kindergarten to third grade students so they are at the appropriate reading level and thus more likely to succeed in the future. The program also helps put resources into Phoenix libraries.
Read On Phoenix was in response to an Arizona law passed in 2010 that requires third graders to read at grade level before being moved up to fourth grade. The law, known more commonly as “Move on When Reading,” prompted Read On to be started in other big Arizona cities like Tucson and Flagstaff as well.
Scott said Stanton wants graduation rates higher. He also sees the value, economically and for the overall success of Phoenix, in ensuring that kindergarten through third-graders are at the appropriate level in reading.
With the quick success of the Read On program in Phoenix, Scott said he feels confident that AARP Experience Corps will be just as effective.
Contact the reporter at mariah.hurst@asu.edu
