Students Help Community Members
With Their Reading, Writing

By Andrea Schmidt
CyberNews Staff Reporter

February 20, 2002

Drake students have a chance to give back to the community in a very unique way. The Drake School of Education's Literacy Center has a program that works with adults and their children.

Students employed through work-study tutor children, helping them with their reading and writing.

"I think it's important because I have a lot of opportunities," Anna Dolezal (AS1) said. "I want to give back."

The Literacy Center began 23 years ago with a state grant and first provided tutoring for children. Then it became apparent that there was a need for adult tutoring as well so volunteers began working with adults.

When the grant ran out, the children's tutoring ended, but the adult Reading and Learning Center continued. Ann Murr, the Literacy Center supervisor, is in charge of the program.

Murr advocates the importance of reading. "It [reading] is essential to your concept of your own self -worth," she said. "Without reading there's so much you can't do."

Murr said the Literacy Center wanted to work with children again. The Des Moines Public Schools Title One Reading Grant of Federal Reading Excellence, "just fell in our laps," she said. During the spring semester of 2001 the program, using federal grants, expanded to include the children of adults who are being tutored.

The federal grant, which runs out in July, pays the work-study students. Murr is exploring other funding options.

Research is being done concerning the development of family literacy. The goal is to find how literacy within the family benefits both adults and children, and how it can strengthen families. Murr is trying to schedule activites for parents and children so they can learn together.

Murr said reading is fundamental to one's well being. She said the younger children begin reading, the easier it is for them to learn. Now that the program caters to students, it provides early intervention for children with reading problems.

"What we're doing with kids will prevent them from being in the same position that some of the adults are in," Traci Sturtz (ED3) said.

Sturtz coordinates the student tutors and holds training sessions for them. Before a Drake student begins tutoring he must complete a training workshop.

Murr works with tutors who have children that need more help, giving them ideas to make reading easier.

This year the program has doubled to 12 children receiving tutoring. "I'm excited that it's grown so much and that we're able to work with kids," Sturtz said. "We're making a difference."

Sturtz said it has been an eye-opening experience to see how many adults need help reading. She said working at the Literacy Center has increased her awareness of how important literacy is and that even in Des Moines, Iowa, there are adults who don't know how to read.