STEP LITERACY CAMP
2010
The Story:
Spring Break of 2009, a literacy pilot program at Franklin Elementary in Little Rock proved to be very successful in improving the reading level of elementary students. Using the curriculum from Christian Literacy Associates, students were grouped according to reading level. Trained tutors worked with very small groups of students…three or four. Because there was significant improvement which was revealed through a pre-test being compared with a post-test on all students, the decision was made to repeat this program.
The summer of 2009 saw the very first STEP Literacy Camp in Eastgate Terrace in North Little Rock. Ten elementary students were chosen before the end of the school year. They were pretested in order to know where to place them. Tutors were recruited and trained. The ratio was one-to-one…one tutor to one student. ALL of the participating students improved their skill levels.
One in particular really exceeded all expectations. He was a non-reading 4th grader who had lived with an undiagnosed vision problem until the third grade. By that time, his reading was too far behind. He sat through his fourth grade year in confusion and failure. His ten days at the Eastgate Literacy Camp moved him from lesson one to lesson forty nine! That is still not quite grade level but it is twice as far as where he started. That kind of success is priceless. His tutor is also his Encourager in the school, so they are diligently still working and will complete the whole curriculum by the end of the year. That means he will be on fifth grade level when he finishes the fifth grade.
It is the intention of STEP Ministries to repeat this camp for the benefit of those students who live in the Eastgate Terrace Housing Project again this summer. There are also several other areas in the county where this might be replicated. We will be aware of all that is needed for a complete camp and have eyes to see when it becomes clear that the Lord is behind a program in a new location. Currently, there are three to five other locations where this program might go forth.
The Focus:
It is very obvious to all who have worked in STEP Ministry that there is a huge need for our kids to receive supplemental reading instruction. Many of them “just don’t get it” and desperately need help. When students reach fourth grade and still struggle with the skill of reading, it becomes clear that comprehension is still far down the road. In the fourth grade, reading as a skill is no longer taught. They are no longer being taught to read, but are expected to read to learn. When that is not in place, sitting in front of a fourth grade social studies book or science book is an exercise in frustration and sometimes anger. Students begin to either become “invisible” or start “acting out.” Both actions are in place to camouflage the fact that they cannot read.
By concentrating on those older students who didn’t get it early on, I believe we can increase their skill level, their comprehension level, and their confidence. Pouring into them with this skill increases their sense of hope, where they had been in a state of hopelessness.
The Motive:
Those who love children and are willing to make a small sacrifice on their behalf are prime candidates for being tutors. Training in the use of the curriculum will be mandatory. Boundaries will be in place around these relationships (ex. No phone number exchange; no outside contact; no presents, etc.) The motive for all the tutors and other Literacy Camp Volunteers is that they understand the importance of this work…a call of God on their lives for a season. They will serve willingly because they are serving Christ by loving a child. The change in the child is simply up to God, not them.