Literacy Mid-South expands tutoring within MSCS, will work with 18 elementary schools

Typically, vending machines contain snacks and drinks. But in some local public elementary schools, you’ll soon find ones with entirely different offerings: books.

Instead of Crunch Bars and Cheetos, they might contain, say, Fran Manushkin’s “Katie Woo and Friends,” and Dav Pilkey’s “Dragon’s Fat Cat.” The books in these vending machines are also free for students.

“I’m excited about the vending machines,” said Erin Luster, the senior manager for family and community engagement at Memphis-Shelby County Schools. “We’re not accustomed to seeing books in vending machines, so I think it’s a fun incentive for our schools and our families.”

The book vending machines come courtesy of Literacy Mid-South, and it’s far from the only way the local nonprofit is aiding MSCS.

Literary Support Services

On Thursday morning in the district’s Coe Auditorium, Literacy Mid-South and 18 elementary schools signed agreements that will lead to more in-school tutoring and other forms of support for students. Already, Literacy Mid-South provides tutoring in nine of these schools. But now, it’s expanding it to all 18 ― bringing the total number of students tutored to around 3,000 ― and providing each of the schools with services that extend beyond tutoring.

Those schools are:

• AB Hill Elementary School

• Alcy Elementary

• Dexter K-8

• Cherokee Elementary

• Chimneyrock Elementary

• Egypt Elementary School

• Ford Road Elementary School

• Germantown Elementary

• LaRose Elementary

• Lowrance K-8 School

• Lucie E. Campbell Elementary

• Lucy Elementary School

• Macon-Hall Elementary School

• Robert R. Church Elementary

• Ross Elementary

• Sharpe Elementary School

• Shelby Oaks Elementary School

• Vollentine Elementary School

The tutoring happens in the schools three times a week, with the part-time tutors’ pay starting at $20 an hour and capping at $27 an hour. There are currently 148 tutors ― many of whom are college students and retired teachers ― and Literacy Mid-South can employ 150. The additional offerings, meanwhile, stem from a desire to reach more students.

“What we found is that tutoring is solid,” Sam O’Bryant, executive director of Literacy Mid-South, told The Commercial Appeal. “But how can we add to it? How can we provide wraparound literacy support services?”

He went on to note that the bulk of the children at the schools it tutors are second and third graders. But the elementary schools have every group from preschoolers to fifth graders.

“This partnership allows us to serve the classrooms that we’re not in,” he said. “So, we intend to do book distributions to pre-K students, kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade.”

The nonprofit will also rotate five of its seven book vending machines through the schools, with each receiving one for about nine weeks at a time. And its staffers intend to interact with parents. A lot of the schools, for example, hold outreach events for parents, which could provide an opportunity for Literacy Mid-South.

Take something along the lines of “Muffins with Mom” or “Donuts with Dad.”

“While the kid is sitting with mom and munching on a muffin, let's share some resources with the parents about how we can reinforce the learning in the home,” O’Bryant said. “When dad shows up munching on doughnuts, how can we share books?”

Literacy Mid-South is able to support the 18 schools through two grants it’s received from the Tennessee Department of Education in the last several years, worth $4.5 million and $1.5 million, respectively. The agreements were reached as part of MSCS’ Adopt-A-School Partnership Program, which allows businesses, civic and faith-based organizations, and community groups to collaborate with schools.

MSCS' literary push

The partnership comes as MSCS looks to continue improving its students’ reading scores, an effort that’s been a priority for the district in recent years. Last year, 23.6% of third graders earned proficient scores on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program English Language Arts tests.

While this was an improvement ― 16.5% of those same students earned proficient scores when they were in second grade ― it’s a number MSCS officials hope to grow significantly. By 2030, the district wants 52% of third graders to earn proficient results in the TCAP ELA tests.

On Thursday, O’Bryant said he hoped the tutoring could help improve scores while noting the state’s recent reading retention law that requires third graders to earn at least a proficient mark to move into the fourth grade. The law does allow students who didn’t reach a proficient score to still move into the next grade by attending summer classes.

“The tutoring that we do is directly aligned with the curriculum in the district,” he said. “So our intentions are students that participate in this tutoring do better on those progress monitoring assessments… And at the end of the year, they do well on the TCAP assessment… and by doing well, they avoid being retained.”

John Klyce covers education and children's issues for The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at John.klyce@commercialappeal.com

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Literacy Mid-South expands tutoring in Memphis-Shelby County Schools