In partnership with local United Ways and school districts, the Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Program, an initiative of United Ways of Iowa, launched in the September 2013. Iowa Reading Corps is a statewide initiative to help ensure that all Iowa students are on track to read at grade level by the end of 3rd grade.
The program places AmeriCorps members, trained as Elementary Literacy Tutors, at elementary schools across the state of Iowa to implement prescribed literacy interventions for students who are just below proficiency in reading.
In its inaugural year, the Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Program placed 10 full-time AmeriCorps members, trained as Elementary Literacy Tutors, in eight school districts across the state of Iowa. Each day, members meet individually with students to conduct 20-minute tutoring sessions that focus upon building students’ skills in phonics, phonemic awareness, and fluency. Based upon current educational research and best practices, the tutoring sessions follow a Response to Intervention (RtI) model. Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps members also conduct additional volunteer recruitment strategies as agreed upon by local need.
The Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Program is replicating a successful, evidence-based model first launched in Minnesota in 2003. To find out more information about the Minnesota Reading Corps and their results, visit minnesotareadingcorps.org.
