For Immediate Release
Contact: Margaret Harter
Community Relations Coordinator
812-349-3057; fax 812-349-3051
email: mharter [at] mcpl [dot] info
Bloomington, IN (June 1, 2010)—With funding cuts creating a void in summer school opportunities, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, RSVP—America Reads, is again partnering with Monroe County Public Library to provide children with an extra boost of reading power. The program matches senior reading tutors aged 55 and over with school-aged children from Richland–Bean Blossom and Monroe County Community Schools for weekly learning sessions at the public library during July. Parents can pick up registration forms now at the Ellettsville Branch Library and the Main Library in Bloomington.
At the Ellettsville Branch Library, tutors will meet one-on-one or in small groups to help children practice and improve their reading skills. The America Reads Coordinator will contact parents to schedule the tutoring sessions. The purpose of the program at the Main Library in Bloomington is to improve the reading skills of children for whom English is a second language. Space is limited. Non-bilingual students may register and will be included as space and tutors permit. The Main Library program will be held from 4–5 p.m. on Wednesdays in July.
Individualized summer tutoring by RSVP—America Reads supplements Monroe County Public Library’s free Summer Reading Program, which motivates children to read during the summer. Children who do not read over the summer can slide backward in their reading skills by two months or roughly 22% of the school year. All school-age children can play the library’s Summer Reading Game to earn points and collect prizes. More information is available by visiting www.mcpl.info/childrens [1] or calling 349-3100.
RSVP—America Reads also provides tutoring to children in the Richland-Bean Blossom and Monroe County Community School systems during the school year. To volunteer or learn more about the tutoring program, contact RSVP—America Reads Coordinator Michelle Martin Colman at mmartin [at] area10agency [dot] org, or call 876-3383.
Additional Contacts:
Stephanie Holman, Children’s Librarian, Ellettsville Branch, 876-1272
Stori Synder, Children’s Services, Main Library, 349-3100
Michelle Martin Colman, RSVP—America Reads, 876-3383
