TEAM READ - A program of The Children's Reading Foundation developed in partnership with the Kennewick (WA) School District

What?
Trained community volunteers read one-on-one for 30 minutes, twice a week with the same first-, second- or third-grader in Kennewick elementary schools.
• 65 adult tutors in the Kennewick School District
• 32 high school tutors (KSD)
• 6 fifth-grade tutors (KSD)

Who?
Team Read students generally do not qualify for other remedial programs but are reading below grade level.
• 155 English-speaking students (KSD)
• 18 Spanish-speaking students (KSD)

Why?
Team Read is one of the family and community engagement strategies employed by The Children's Reading Foundation and Kennewick School District to help assure students read early and well: “90% of our students will read at or above grade level by the end of third grade.”

Where?
Team Read is available in five of Kennewick School District's 13 elementary schools. Each school is below the 90 percent goal but, as of spring 2006, above 80 percent.

Outcomes
• Team Read is a low-cost, effective model that can boost students to grade level by third grade.
• Data show that with Team Read, nearly 70 percent of participants read at grade level by spring of third grade. Nearly 100 percent of participants read below grade level prior to Team Read intervention.

Cost
Team Read costs less than $400 per student a year for 26 hours of tutoring and includes a paid program director and paid on-site coordinators.

Strategies
• New tutors are trained before being assigned a student and additional training is provided at two luncheons per year.
• On-site coordinators oversee tutoring at each school and fill in for absent tutors.
• Student incentives include small toys for reading a certain number of books, book bags before winter and summer breaks, birthday books and stickers.
• In an effort to combat summer learning loss, students receive postcards from their tutors during the summer reminding them to read.

Teacher testimonials
• “Thank you for everything you do. (Without you) there is no way I could get the growth out of my kids that I do.”
• “I saw tremendous growth in fluency, comprehension and confidence.”