HANCOCK COUNTY — Hope Hendrix paused, wide-eyed, as the microphone amplified her voice.
The third-grader at Harris Elementary read from a speech she wrote about her experiences in a reading tutor program called ReadUP. Hendrix and 33 other students in her grade graduated from the program Tuesday morning, earning a handshake and a medal from the superintendent.
About 60 students from Harris, Weston and J.B. Stevens elementary schools graduated this week from ReadUP, an initiative of United Way of Central Indiana, that aids third-graders reading below grade level by pairing them with tutors for extra help.
“I love ReadUP because it’s the most extraordinary group of people, ever,” Hendrix read from her speech.
Students improve their reading skills, but they also form lasting relationships with the volunteer tutors, officials said.
In its ninth year in Hancock County, the program used the volunteer hours of about 120 tutors, said United Way of Central Indiana volunteer coordinator Jeannie Roberts. Each tutor reads with two students a week, helping them to gain confidence in reading skills including sounding out words, looking up words and reading aloud and silently, officials said. By the end of the school year, the students receive 50 hours of reading help, Roberts said.
The program targets third-graders, because two standardized tests — the ISTEP and IREAD-3 — determine whether students will advance to the fourth grade.
ReadUP begins the first week of September, giving teachers a chance to assess students’ reading skills and select students to participate in the program, Roberts said.
The program requires between 100 and 130 volunteers a year, including alternates, to tutor the 60 students — 20 at each elementary school — in the program.
More than 300 students from Weston, Harris and J.B. Stephens elementary schools have graduated from the program since its inception nearly 10 years ago, according to Daily Reporter archives.
Data from Harris Elementary School shows ReadUP is having a positive impact on the students in its ranks, said assistant superintendent Ann Vail.
Of the students enrolled in ReadUP, 93 percent pass the IREAD-3 test; that’s higher than the rate of third-graders not enrolled in ReadUP, which falls at 88 percent, she said.
In its 11 years of existence in central Indiana, the United Way program has been established at 41 schools in six counties, said Shannon Jenkins, United Way program manager. More than 1,000 volunteers work September through May to read with about 700 students, providing more than 14,000 volunteer hours, she said.
While the program’s main goal is to improve students’ reading abilities, it also aims to make reading more fun for them as well. The third-graders form bonds with their tutors over the course of the school year, officials said.
Volunteer Jo Mills, in her eighth year of volunteering for ReadUP, said each year she gets to know her students pretty well.
And volunteers have the pleasure of seeing their pupils grow throughout the year, noted Harris principal Jan Kehrt.
“It’s amazing to see where they start, and where they finish,” she said. “That growth is something educators might take for granted, but it’s pretty amazing for them.”
