Submitted by Tacoma Community House
Tacoma Community House continues its efforts to improve reading fluency in the Tacoma Public School District through its program Read2Me. Since last fall, 162 tutors were recruited to work with developing young readers. Read2Me volunteers tutor developing young readers in the first, second, and third grades to ensure that children achieve fourth grade reading benchmarks. Once they enter the fourth grade, the curriculum shifts so students must rely on their own reading skills to keep up on all subjects. Thus far, volunteers have tutored 293 students for a total of 2,608 hours.
The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution awarded TCH’s Read2Me program $4,625 to help support the Tacoma School District, one of the largest education systems in Washington. Funding for this project was made possible through the sponsorship of Mary Ball Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, located in Tacoma.
“A child’s reading skills are important to their success in school and work. If students are unable to read to learn by the fourth grade, they may never catch up in their studies. Through Read2Me we will cultivate a future generation that is highly literate, knowledgeable, and skilled,” said Executive Director, Liz Dunbar. Funding provided by the DAR has helped in the recruitment of new tutors, student assessments, and volunteer trainings.
The DAR grants program was started in 2010. Funding is awarded to support projects in local communities which promote the organization’s mission areas of historic preservation, education and patriotism.
The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in 1890 to promote patriotism, preserve American history, and support better education for our nation’s children. Its members are descended from the patriots who won American independence during the Revolutionary War. With 178,000 members in approximately 3,000 chapters worldwide, DAR is one of the world’s largest and most active service organizations. To learn more about the work of today’s DAR, visit www.DAR.org. For more about applying for a Special Projects Grant from DAR, visit www.dar.org/grants.
