Spring Academic and Reading Recovery Program Launches Online Courses to Help K-8 Students Close Reading Skills Gap Caused By Covid School Closures

Fewer Than 50% of Students in Merced County Elementary Schools
Read at Grade-Appropriate Levels

Merced, CA—April 5, 2021—California non-profit Learn to Read announced today that it has partnered with Harvest Park Educational Center and the University of California, Merced to launch a Spring Academic and Reading Recovery Program . The program is designed specifically to help K-8 students catch up to appropriate grade-level reading skills after set-backs from Covid
school closures.

Each of the three educational partners in the Summer Academic and Reading Recovery Program is making a unique contribution to this program designed to provide a three month academic engagement to Merced-based students, particularly those who have seen limited progress during the past year of the pandemic shutdown.

Learn to Read, a California non-profit company, provides the supervising teacher, the reading coaches, and the reading curriculum. The Learn to Read curriculum utilizes recorded reading lessons synchronized with a skills-based workbook. Each page has a video teaching the reading skills in a one-to-one tutoring format.

Harvest Park Education Center provides a year-round after-school program to address academic needs, life management skills, and tutoring services. The University of California – Merced, Department of Community Services, Projects with Purpose Merced is providing the teachers for this program.

The Spring Academic and Reading Recovery Program delivers individual lessons to students via an online digital library and an online Reading Pal to facilitate the student’s engagement. Each video is approximately 15-20 minutes in duration with the guidance from the online reading pal.

This program includes a Reading Coach who meets online with each student periodically to review the student’s work, addresses any questions or issues in the student’s understanding of the reading skills, provides positive encouragement, and reviews the upcoming series of assignments.

Dr. Walsh, a literacy advocate, partner in WCW Solutions Inc., and retired Merced County educator, has provided operational and advisory support to Learn to Read in Merced County since 2018.

“Fewer than 50% of students in Merced County elementary schools read at grade level, even though the ability to read is critical to children’s success in school, life-long earning potential, and ability to contribute to the world they live in. Learn to Read is an effective, efficient, successful program that improves a child’s reading skills and contributes to a child’s growth in comprehension skills,” according to Dr. Susan Walsh.

“Fifteen months of Covid-19 restrictions adversely affected many grade school students. The Learn to Read program provides a tutor-like experience to grade school students in developing reading and comprehension skills. The live reading pal sessions bring the human engagement to address each student’s individual needs and provide encouragement,” said Vivian Mendoza, CoFounder of Learn to Read.”Students are excited and motivated when they manage their learning process and have a chance to show off their work.”

”The pandemic dealt a devastating setback to our students who come from low income and disadvantaged communities. We believe this Spring Academic and Reading Recovery program will prepare and boost our students’ academic skills and confidence when they return to school in the fall”, commented Mrs. Gloria Morris, Managing Director of Harvest Park Educational Center, a non-profit focused on helping children from underserved communities.

Where To Sign Up:
This program will be available from April 12 though June 30, 2021
Parents and guardians can indicate their interest in the Spring Academic and Reading Recovery Program by completing the Contact Us form at: https://learntoreadonline.org/contact-us/

About Learn To Read:
The Learn to Read program provides a reading curriculum specific for teaching reading skills to elementary school students. The program features recorded reading lessons synchronized with each page in the student workbook. A Reading Pal joins the student in each online lesson and a Reading Coach conducts a bi-weekly online session to review student progress, address challenges, and determine the following week’s assignments. For more information, see https://LearnToReadOnline.org

Media Contacts:
For Learn to Read:
Jim Connor
jconnor@LearnToReadOnline.org
Mobile: 415-518-8874

Harvest Park Education Center
Mrs. Gloria Morris
hpechomeworkmatters@gmail.com
Tel: (209) 626-6777

Dr. Susan Walsh
Partner, WCW Solutions, Inc.
susanwalsh@walshcassadywalsh.com
Telephone: 209-756-1473