Schools Of Hope Program Pilot Set To Begin This Fall

As some students in Racine Unified Schools continue to struggle with reading, a program called Schools of Hope aims to help. Here’s how you can get involved.

For years, some schools in the Racine Unified School District have struggled to improve their students’ reading scores.

Students without adequate reading skills are less likely to graduate from high school, and when children don’t graduate, that impacts the community.

Jim Beere, owner of Pioneer Products, is the chairman of tutoring program called Schools of Hope. The program is a partnership between the United Way of Racine County, the Racine Unified School District and the business community. He got involved with the program because he recognized that when students don’t graduate, the community’s workforce suffers, which often prevents companies from coming into the community, which in turn limits the number of available jobs.

The program will be piloted in two schools – Olympia Brown Elementary in Caledonia and Wadewitz Elementary in Racine – this fall.

Jessica Safransky coordinates the Schools of Hope program through United Way of Racine County and she describes the program as “a catalytic event for change and it involves United Way volunteers that wanted to look at improving reading scores for children.”

The project has been implemented in school districts in Dane County, west Michigan and Wine Country California.

“In each of those school districts the program has been very successful,” she said.

The goal of the program is simple: to improve children’s reading scores by pairing tutors with children.

“We know that when we work with students at a younger age the chances of students reading at a level of proficient or advanced levels is higher,” Safransky said. “And when children are reading at a basic or minimal level, they can get very frustrated with reading. If you catch that before it progresses into frustration and building their confidence, then they do better in all subject areas in school.”

For more information on this program visit the Caledonia Patch at Caledonia Patch

To find out how to be a tutor please visit United Way-Tutor Interest program

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