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United Way of Weld County has teamed up with AmeriCorps, Youth for A Change, and Greeley-Evans School District 6 to offer Colorado Reading Corps, an evidence-based nationally implemented program that helps students build literacy skills and increase reading proficiency.

Full-time tutors provide daily 1-on-1 sessions with kindergarten through third grade students. Tutoring sessions occur outside of the student’s teacher-led reading instruction time during the school day. Tutors provide targeted reading skill practice in ten intervention areas such as phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. Students who receive Colorado Reading Corps services include those scoring “below target” on benchmark assessments administered by the tutors, and students receiving Title 1, special education, or English Language services.

Tutors are AmeriCorps members with an interest in social change; they are trained to provide reading instruction and receive a living allowance and earn hours of service toward an education award to pay for college tuition or to pay back college loans. Each tutor position requires a $10,000 annual sponsorship, paid for by United Way or another local organization. This fee covers program management and money due to the national AmeriCorps program.

2020-2021 People Served by Area of Weld County

• Carbon Valley (Berthoud, Dacono, Erie, Firestone, Frederick, Longmont, Mead, Northglenn, Thornton): 0
• County Seat (Evans, Garden City, Greeley): 178
• Outback (Briggsdale, Grover, New Raymer): 0
• Poudre River Corridor (Severance, Windsor): 0
• South County (Brighton, Fort Lupton, Hudson, Keenesburg, Lochbuie): 147
• Thompson River Valley (Johnstown, Milliken): 0
• US-85 Corridor South (Platteville, Gilcrest, LaSalle, Kersey): 0
• US-85 Corridor North (Eaton, Ault, Pierce, Nunn): 0
• Outside Weld County: 0

Find out more about this program:
2019-2020
2020-2021

"I had a third grader who had missed a LOT of school in kindergarten through second grade and was really behind. This student started third grade not knowing all of their letters and only recognizing three words on the beginning of the year assessment. They were reading at a kindergarten level. Even though we didn't start tutoring regularly until October due to the pandemic, this student made huge progress this year. They went from basically not being able to read at all to reading almost 50 words per minute. As we continued, their confidence shot up and they truly started to enjoy reading and school. Last week, they scored at a second-grade reading level and they are still making progress. They never gave up!"

"I had a second-grade student who was repeating second grade after she was held back a year. She had come from a more affluent school where she felt discouraged, and she fell really behind. She was reading at a kindergarten level when I started tutoring her. Later in the year, she told me, 'I look forward to our meetings every day and you've made me love reading'. I still tear up thinking about this. This made my year! She's now reading chapter books at home."

Tutors provide a significant extra layer of support during a school year when educators, students, and families continue to be deeply impacted by teh effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and resources are spread thin.