stair

STAIR's program runs from October to May each year and serves 100 primarily low-income and minority children at 12 sites throughout Anne Arundel County. STAIR volunteers work one-on-one with each student for two and a half hours hours every week: reading to and with them: strengthening and building their decoding, spelling and comprehension skills through an engaging curriculum; playing instructional games and mentoring them as they grow in confidence and self-esteem. STAIR follows an Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) approved curriculum, and confidence and trust are developed through the pairing of students with tutors-same student/same tutor for the entire school year. This environment of stability and instructional support leads to a measurable increase in students' accuracy, fluency and reading comprehension levels. STAIR helps children build home libraries throughout the year, and keeps them engaged with reading over the summer with book packets sent to their homes. Each STAIR child will leave the program with at least 25 books of their own, an average increase of 5.3 reading levels and--we hope!..a lifelong love of reading.