Reading program for special needs students recognized at luncheon

YOUNGSTOWN

No complicated phrases or explanations are needed to better understand how 8-year-old Shawn Ivy’s reading abilities continue to improve.

“This program is benefiting him greatly as far as his attitude and discipline,” said Shawn’s father, Tyrone Ivy. “He’s moving forward and headed in the right direction.”

The elder Ivy was referring to his son’s being part of the Mentoring in Ohio for Reading and Excellence program, which he predicts will help lay the groundwork for Shawn to be a productive, community-minded teenager and adult.

Project MORE is a scientifically based reading initiative for students in kindergarten through grade 12 with special needs and challenges or who are at risk for failure in reading.

Father and son were among the mentors, students and parents in Project MORE who were recognized during Thursday’s two-hour appreciation luncheon at William Holmes McGuffey Elementary School, 310 S. Schenley Ave., on the city’s West Side.

Project MORE has four mentors who work two to four days a week to help eight students in kindergarten through sixth grade with their reading comprehension, noted Katherine Buonavolonta, a special-education teacher of youngsters in kindergarten through grade two.

Mentors spend 30 minutes each session with the youngsters who are struggling with reading, she explained.

Additional mentors are needed and plans are in the works to incorporate Project MORE into additional city schools for the 2014-15 school year, explained Addonnus Harden, RSVP’s program manager.

Read more about the program in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.