skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Seniors Help Arizona Kids Struggling To Read

play audio
Play

Wednesday, August 20, 2014   

PHOENIX - Hundreds of school children in Phoenix who may be struggling with reading are getting some help from some older Arizonans giving back to the community.

The AARP Experience Corps program is starting at 10 elementary schools in five districts. Tim Valencia, youth and education manager for the city of Phoenix, said the volunteer tutors will work with students who are having trouble reading at their grade level.

"In 2010, the state passed a law called 'Move on When Ready.' And if third-graders are not reading at grade level by the third grade, they can be retained," Valencia said. "And so, we want to help our school districts as much as we can to minimize the amount of students that are being retained."

Valencia said Experience Corps is expanding into Phoenix after several successful years working with kids in Tempe schools. It's a nationally recognized program that operates in more than 20 U.S. cities, he said. This school year, he said, the goal in Arizona is to help up to 600 students improve their reading skills to grade level. The focus is on younger readers, up to third grade.

Cynthia Fagyas, communications director for AARP Arizona, cited an ongoing need for volunteers who can work at least five hours a week with students in the Wilson, Riverside, Tolleson, Fowler and Phoenix Elementary school districts. She said research shows that children who go through the program show marked improvement in their reading ability.

"It's really an excellent win-win," she said, "for both volunteers who are so rewarded by the experience and the children, who actually find that they can read much, much better after being tutored through the program."

She said people interested in volunteering must have a high school diploma and agree to a criminal background and reference check.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021