Reading Allies Requests $50K In Funding, Stresses Need For Volunteers

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Representatives from the Tuscaloosa Education Foundation were on hand Wednesday for the regular meeting of the Tuscaloosa County Commission, where they requested $50,000 in funding for its Reading Allies program, while also asking the public's help in the form of volunteers.

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Currently in its fourth year of operation in local schools, Reading Allies is operated by the University of Alabama System and is currently involved at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School and The Alberta School for Performing Arts in the Tuscaloosa city School system, in addition to Holt Elementary and Matthews Elementary in the county school system.

The program incorporates a 20-session model aimed at improving reading proficiency to the point that the student is reading on or above grade level.

Assistant Director of Reading Allies Claire Stebbins explained that over the last few years, students on average made up one year of instruction in one semester of phonics work. This comes after officials from both Tuscaloosa City Schools and the Tuscaloosa County School System expressed their need for help with students reading below grade level, particularly those in the third grade and younger.

"If we can catch up one year of instruction in one semester, then we are really going to change the trajectory of what these kids are doing, as well as what teachers are equipped to do in the classroom," she said. "These teachers are really seeing the impact of the programming, not just in the scores themselves, but in these children's behavior in their classrooms and becoming leaders."

Tuscaloosa Education Foundation Executive Director Terri Bowman also pointed out that, at present, 15% of Alabamians are functionally illiterate, in addition to mentioning the high dropout rates among students who are not reading at grade level by the fourth grade.

"We wanted to make this a premier program for the Tuscaloosa Education Foundation," she said, before going on to express the nonprofit's goal of being in all 16 Title I schools in Tuscaloosa County and the City of Tuscaloosa.

Stebbins also reflected on the program's roots and past success, saying that during the first pilot year, Reading Allies data showed that 80% of participants were reading on or above grade level after alone one year of program. These students, she pointed out, are among the "lowest of the low" in reading proficiency among their classmates when they begin participating in the program.

"Students on average only stay in the program for one semester," Stebbins said. "After that one semester, these children are no longer the lowest of the lowest in their classroom but they are able to thrive in their normal classroom environment without that additional support. So, we are able to pick up more students who do need that additional support and continue to move them along and propel them along."

In addition to the need for funding, representatives from the Tuscaloosa Education Foundation also mentioned the growing need for volunteers as the Readies Allies program looks to expand out into more schools.

"What if we hired a retired reading teacher to write individualize lesson plans for the lowest of the low readers, but actually trained community volunteers like y’all and people in this room to deliver those lessons one on one?," Stebbins said to the Commission on Wednesday following the request for $50,000 in funding for the year.

Stebbins then said the operating budget for the program over the next five-year period is expected to be in excess of $1 million. However, it's the proven success of the fledgling program that the Tuscaloosa Education Foundation believes underscores the need for its services to grow.

"We have a very ambitious goal to be in all 16 Title-I city and county schools over the next two academic years," Bowman said, mentioning that both entities have expressed their desires to see the timeline accelerate to help make up for the learning shortfalls still be felt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tuscaloosa Education Foundation reports that 1,000 volunteers will be needed for the Reading Allies once it reaches this point, in addition to at least $400,000 in annual funding to continue the program moving forward.

Following the presentation, no action was taken by the Tuscaloosa County Commission, with Probate Judge Rob Robertson saying the request would be taken under advisement before a decision is made.

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