SPRINGDALE, Ark. — The Springdale School District is expanding a new tutoring program to several elementary schools this year after leaders said it was a success for first-grade students who participated in the pilot program.
During the 2023-24 school year, Springdale received funding from Arkansas LEARNS for a high-impact tutoring program to help first-grade students who were learning to read.
Westwood Elementary was the pilot school for the grant.
In a partnership with the University of Arkansas College of Education, Westwood students worked with pre-service teachers who came in with their college professors to tutor students in reading, helping them with accuracy and fluency.
Springdale associate superintendent Melissa Fink said the program was a win-win for the first graders who improved their reading skills and the student teachers who got to put their training into practice and connect with the students.
‘We saw academic success with the program,” Fink said. “All of our first-grade students grew in their reading ability, but more importantly, we saw our college pre-service teachers getting an opportunity to practice what they were learning in class and have that job-embedded experience with their liaison coaching into the strategies that they were using. We saw our little first graders build relationships with university students and really just treasured the time that they got to spend with the bigger kids."
Because of the success at Westwood, the district is expanding the tutoring program to five other elementary schools this fall: George Elementary, Harp Elementary, Jones Elementary, Monitor Elementary and Shaw Elementary.
“The teachers and the principal [at Westwood] talk about how much their students grew, not only in their ability to read, but in their confidence, and I know that our pre-service teachers also just absolutely fell in love with the program, and I think it's an experience they will not ever forget,” Fink said.
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