UM Awarded National Grant Employs Students in Community Literacy Programs

October 28, 2009

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 LLIP, 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."

LLIP 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 LLIP 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.

Pam Starling