DUANE SHERRILLEditor

Volunteers are still being sought for the K-3 Reading Buddy initiative which seeks to put 100 reading assistants into classrooms around Tullahoma this coming year to help improve the reading abilities of students in the wake of the state’s new third-grade retention policy for those who are not reading on grade level.

As of press-time, 29 volunteers had been accepted into the Reading Buddy Program, meaning there is still a ways to go to meet the vision shared by former Tullahoma Mayor Lane Curlee and Director of Schools Catherine Stephens. Those wishing to get involved can get a registration card from the city school system or by contacting Curlee at 931-581-0360 or at lculree@lighttube.net.

Currently the plan is to have each volunteer donate one hour a week in a classroom at East Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Jack T. Farrar, Bel-Aire or wherever needed. Volunteers may request a certain school or may elect to be assigned as needed. The volunteers will work with K-3 and perform such work as reading to a student, reading with a student, listening to a student read, practice building words, identifying letters, play learning games, practice spelling words and other exercises that contribute to helping students read on or above grade level.

Persons who want to participate in the program should complete the application and email it to angel.stidham@tcsedu.net or drop it by the main school office at 510 S. Jackson Street or mail it to 510 S. Jackson Street, Tullahoma TN 37388. Volunteers will then be contacted and will undergo a background check. The application can also be found on page 8A of today’s edition.

This past year, over half of Tullahoma’s third grade students were found not to be proficient in reading according to the state’s standardized test. The law T.C.A. 49-6-3115, or the third grade retention law, was revised by the Tennessee General Assembly and restricts third-graders from moving up to fourth grade if they score below proficient on the state-wide TCAP English-Language Arts test. Many school boards, educators, leaders and parents were against the law as it stood, with the Tullahoma City Schools Board of Education passing a resolution in September urging the General Assembly to amend the law to allow the school districts to make retention decisions for third and fourth grade students, like all other grade levels, based upon all school district information on each student.

By level, 21.48% of Tullahoma third graders were found below proficiency, 36.72% were found approaching proficiency. Both of those categories will be required to take action to avoid being held back. The next level included 33.2% of students who met proficiency. They were joined by 8.59% who were above proficiency. Those last two categories will have to take no action to move up to the fourth grade.

Under the new education policy, those students faced retention in the third grade. However, most of that number will be allowed to advance to fourth grade thanks to appeals, the retaking of the reading test and ongoing tutoring, bumping the school system’s proficiency percentage to 76%.

Given the high number of students there were found not to be proficient, former Mayor Lane Curlee contacted Director of Schools Dr. Catherine Stephens to suggest volunteers “flood” the classrooms to help tutor students and help them improve their reading skills. Both Curlee and Stephens presented the “Reading Buddies” program to the Board of Mayor and Alderman during its June meeting.

According to Curlee, “Reading Buddies” will have volunteers, the “big buddies,” who will work with the K-3 students, the “little buddies,” for one hour a week. Curlee said during the presentation that with four elementary schools, four grades, kindergarten through third grade, and an average of four classrooms in each grade in each school comes out to 64 total classes for all four elementary schools. He said goal is to have two volunteers in each classroom for the year, which comes out to 128 volunteers needed.

“Volunteers will have an opportunity for some gratification in small victories,” Curlee said to the city board. “Can you imagine sitting next to a child in the back of a classroom or in the cafeteria or in the library and a lightbulb goes off in that child’s head where he or she finally grasped a vowel sound or reads for the first time a complete sentence and you’re there? There’s an extreme amount of gratification in small victories.”

Curlee ended his presentation by stating “Reading Buddies” will give the adults of Tullahoma, who may not have known how, an opportunity to be a part of potentially changing a child’s life.

Kyle Murphy contributed to this story.