Beginning this fall, several University work-study students will venture into Durham's elementary schools as part of the fledgling Duke Learning Partners Program.
The new program is a response to President Bill Clinton's nationwide "America Reads" initiative, which he crystallized in a Dec. 21, 1996 national radio address. America Reads calls on 100,000 college-level work-study students to help kindergartners through third graders learn how to read.
Literacy, Clinton said during the address, is "about opportunity, giving people the tools to make the most of their God-given potential." According to the plan, the federal government will pay all of the tutors' work-study salaries, thereby freeing elementary schools-which were previously required to pay 25 percent of salary costs-from additional expenses.
Tutors from the University will be assigned to children at the George Watts, E.K. Powe and Morehead Montessori Elementary Schools, where they will be expected to tutor six to 12 hours per week. Students may also volunteer for the program, in which case they would tutor two hours per week.
John Colclough, principal of George Watts Elementary, said that although the details of the Duke program have not been finalized-such as exact times and individual assignments-the needs of grade-school students will be evaluated on an individual basis.
Students will likely be organized into three different groups, Colclough continued, depending upon the level of assistance they require: those in the bottom 20 percent of the class in reading ability, those who need minor help and those with reading levels in between the two categories.
According to the campus Community Service Center's Fall 1997 newsletter, the elementary schools will sponsor training sessions for tutors in late September. The center hopes to enlist 30 work-study students and an equal number of volunteers, said Elaine Madison, CSC's administrative director.
For students contemplating educational careers or services involving children, Madison said she believes the Learning Partners Program is ideal. She added that the program will also introduce University students to a variety of learning techniques, some of which they may find helpful in their own studies.
"Tutoring helps students with their own communication," Madison said.
James Belvin, director of Undergraduate Financial Aid, said the program recognizes the University's commitment to work with the Durham community. "This is an extension of efforts that are already under way," he explained.
Belvin noted that the federal government's financial assistance has helped launch this and other nationwide programs. To that end, the University is kicking in some dollars as well: The financial aid office has set aside $100,000 to fund the program this year. This capital is available due to an increase in the allocation of work-study funds, he said.
Amy Becker-Leibowitz, work-study coordinator and financial aid counselor, said the amount provided by the University is not permanent, however, and will be adjusted annually.
"We expect the program will evolve over time," she said, "and we will support it."
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