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Project MORE helps Taft Elementary kids build their reading skills
YOUNGSTOWN
Project MORE gives Taft Elementary students extra opportunities to better their reading and comprehension skills.
“The mission of Project MORE, Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence, is to help every student maximize their reading potential, no matter their ability level,” according to the Project MORE website.
The project brings community members into Taft to help students enhance their reading skills.
“It is just phenomenal,” said intervention specialist Linda Olinik.
Olinik said when she started implementing the program three years ago, she saw the benefits almost immediately.
“I saw the students displaying good-reader habits,” she said.
Some of these habits include looking back in the text for better comprehension or using context clues to figure out word meanings.
By having community members come in to work with students, Olinik said students become more complex readers with one-on-one instruction the volunteers enable.
“This has been so fantastic,” she said. “If a child is a couple years behind in reading, they’ve seen a lot of F’s on papers, and now they are making measurable progress and getting a lot of positive feedback through Project MORE, which is the greatest thing.”
Olinik added that whatever help a student needs, she tries to provide through Project MORE.
“It’s just my job as an educator,” she said.
It doesn’t stop there, however.
Olinik found she has a love for helping students love to read.
“We can give them the tools to be able to read, but our job doesn’t end there,” she said. “We have to give them the confidence to use these tools on the tests they have to take and more.”
Taft fifth-grader Jordan Barich said he enjoys being able to read and to better understand the books.
“I like knowing what happens,” he said.
Like Jordan, volunteer Tom Forestal has fun learning new things from each book.
“Every week we go through one book – for every four or five days,” he said. “They provide a wide range of learning in so many different areas.”
The subjects, however, aren’t what interest fourth-grader Michael Guminski – it’s the reading.
“Before, I didn’t like to read,” he said. “But with each book, I like it a little more.”
And that’s what makes Project MORE worthwhile, said Diane Gonda, of Americorps Vista at United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley, and a volunteer for Taft Promise Neighborhood and Project MORE.
“It’s amazing to see students like to read,” Gonda said. “Before, so many were reluctant to even try.”
Seeing the results make being a volunteer worthwhile, said Laiken Percic, a Youngstown State University education major.
“It’s nice to be able to see you’re helping them and making an impact and see them advancing,” she said.
Community members interested in mentoring should contact the school at 330-744-7973.