SPRINGFIELD SCHOOLS Grant funds pupils' tutoring in reading

Pupils will receive the extra help on an as-needed basis during school hours.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Some 60 pupils in the Springfield School District started getting some extra help this week developing their reading skills.
Those pupils, in grades one through four, have been identified as needing the additional assistance, which they will continue to receive throughout the school year as part of the Student Intervention Reading Program.
The initiative is sponsored by the federal Comprehensive Continuous Improvement Plan.
At its monthly meeting earlier this week, the Springfield School Board accepted a $25,000 grant to help pay for the program.
The money is being provided by the federal government to the state, and the state is to determine how the funds are appropriated.
Springfield administrators said the funds are being used, in part, to hire two reading tutors, who will work with pupils five hours a day, five days a week. The tutors' wages have been set at $12 an hour.
A portion of the grant also will be used to buy books and other learning materials and to pay for various staff development programs.
Extra help
Administrators said pupils will receive the extra help on an as-needed basis in the classroom during regular school hours.
"We're excited about the program and what we'll be able to do with the grant," said Tom Yazvac, elementary school principal. "It will allow us to hire the tutors, and that will allow us to provide the extra help to the students who need it. We're glad we'll be able to provide our students with a program like this."
The district applied for the grant last month and learned earlier this week that Springfield received the money, Yazvac said.