OXFORD, Miss. – A new national grant from the Corporation for National
Community Service is helping boost literacy achievement in north
Mississippi by providing tutors and other resources for community and
school literacy programs.
The grant, valued at $250,000 per year, was awarded to the University
of Mississippi through the Mississippi Commission of Volunteer
Services. It funds the UM Literacy for Life Intervention Program, or
LFLIP, which uses graduate students as tutors for literacy programs
throughout the area.
“Receiving this grant will allow the
university to dispatch our students out into local communities so that
they may assist residents and children in learning and mastering two of
life’s most important skills: reading and writing,” said Ronald
Fuentes, UM Literacy for Life Program co-director.
The grant was awarded to the university for the 2009-10 academic
year to launch the program. Full-time graduate students from any
academic area can be accepted into the program and trained as literacy
tutors. Participants are compensated through partial-tuition
scholarships, stipends and possible financial awards for continuing
education after service-hour requirements are met. Students also get
valuable experience for future employment and career opportunities.
“This program is helping me pay for my education while allowing
me to stay connected in the community,” said Brittany Amason of Winona.
Amason completed her bachelor’s degree in education at Ole Miss
before being accepted into the university’s Master of Literacy
Education program this fall. She serves as a literacy tutor through
LFLIP at Della Davidson Elementary School in Oxford three days each
week, working with fourth-grade students who need extra support with
their reading and writing skills.
“Working with students who are not reading at grade-level is
challenging but very rewarding,” Amason says. “Through the Literacy for
Life Intervention Program, I will have the opportunity to see these
students get back on track in their education, and evaluate their
progress throughout the process.”
LFLIP participants are also planning for a “Family Literacy
Night” in Oxford, where area students can pick out books and parents
can learn helpful tips for encouraging their child’s growth and
performance in reading and writing.
“This will help open the door for parents to get more involved
in the progression of their child’s reading skills,” Amason said.
The grant and LFLIP program is administered through the UM
Division of Outreach and Continuing Education, the School of
Education’s Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction and the
Intensive English Program. Students being accepted into the program are
not only from the UM main campus in Oxford, but also from the
university’s Tupelo and DeSoto regional campuses.
The students participate in detailed training sessions to
prepare for tutoring. LFLIP is structured to give guidance, goals and
feedback to the tutors as well as to the performance of the students
being tutored.
Area elementary schools get the service of literacy tutors free of
charge, as a part of in-school or after-school tutoring programs for
children in grades 4-6. Tutors are also available for community adult
literacy programs and non-native English speakers’ literacy programs.
Tutors must complete 900 hours of service, which includes
training hours, by the end of the grant cycle in August. Workshops and
reading camps are planned for the summer months.
UM graduate students interested in the program can attend
information sessions at the UM-DeSoto campus in Southaven at 3 and 5
p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 27) and at the UM-Tupelo campus at 3 p.m. Wednesday
(Oct. 28). The main campus session in Oxford is set for noon to 2 p.m.
Thursday (Oct. 29) at the E.F. Yerby Center Auditorium.
For more information, contact LFLIP co-coordinators Sarah Siebert at sasieber@olemiss.edu or 662-915-1392, or Ronald Fuentes at 662-915-1560 or rfuentes@olemiss.edu. The application deadline for serving as a tutor during the spring 2010 semester is Dec. 1.