Michigan Education Corps

Hope Network’s Michigan Education Corps recently showcased its Preschool Reading Corps program at the Orchard View Community Education site. In addition to lawmakers -- Sen. Goeff Hansen, Reps. Amanda Price, Holly Hughes, and Marcia Hovey-Wright -- staff were on hand from the United Way of the Lakeshore, Muskegon Area Intermediate School District, and the Community Foundation for Muskegon County to hear from the staff at the preschool, tour the facilities, and see the Reading Corps tutors in action as they provided daily, short reading sessions with preschool students. Reading Corps also has a Kindergarten through 3rd grade program with 20 minute daily 1-on-1 reading sessions. The program aim is to increase literacy skills in students and is modeled after the Minnesota Reading Corps program that uses highly trained AmeriCorps members as tutors to help struggling students become successful readers. A rigorous study conducted by the University of Chicago confirms that Reading Corps is a proven model that significantly accelerates literacy achievement for children age 3 to grade 3. Reading Corps tutors in Michigan are part of a multi-state effort helping more than 40,000 struggling students learn to read each year. United Way of the Lakeshore and the Community Foundation for Muskegon County are funding collaborators for the pilot preschool Reading Corps program.