A national reading organization has expanded its work into Greater Minnesota and is hosting reading tutors at two Faribault elementary schools this fall.
The group, Reading Partners Minnesota, is a state branch of the national outfit that got its start in 1999. It began working in Twin Cities schools in 2015, but the organization was aware of reading needs across the state, said Brooke Rivers, executive director of Reading Partners Minnesota.
In Faribault, for example, Rivers said demographics have shifted and there are more families for which English is a second language.
In the 2023-24 school year, between the Lincoln Elementary and Jefferson Elementary schools, less than a third of third- and fourth-graders tested as proficient in the MCA reading exam, while the statewide proficiency rate for that age group was 46%.
Rivers said socioeconomic status and race often play into those data discrepancies. Between those two schools last year, roughly a third of the students identified as Black or African American while a third identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to state data.
“When we start seeing who is reading at grade level, we really do see the differences,” she said. “The students that are upper income, that are white, tend to be reading at higher grade levels than students who are from lower socioeconomic statuses and students of color.”
The nonprofit’s programs focus on kindergarten through fifth grade, pairing volunteer tutors with students. Rivers emphasized the importance of the group being a resource for fourth- and fifth-graders, as data shows students have a harder time catching up after third grade.
“That’s when students stop learning how to read in the classroom, and now they’re expected to read to learn in the classroom,” Rivers said. “But students as they head into fourth and fifth grade, if they’re struggling, now there’s even fewer resources that are targeted to those students, and they’re falling further behind in other areas because they’re struggling to read.”
The program places an AmeriCorps member in each school, who then is able to support volunteers in those communities. The volunteers are the ones who do the tutoring, which typically involves two 45 minute sessions per week.
Reading Partners has set a goal of working with 400 students in Minnesota this year and has expanded its programs into two other districts besides Faribault — Roseville and Columbia Heights. Last year, it worked with 387 students.
Ava Kian
Ava Kian is MinnPost’s Greater Minnesota reporter. Follow her on Twitter @kian_ava or email her at akian@minnpost.com.
