Minnesota Reading Corps, Math Corps Recruiting 1,300 Tutors for 2014-15 School Year

MINNEAPOLIS, MN--(Marketwired - May 13, 2014) - Minnesota Reading Corps and Math Corps announced that it will be recruiting 1,300 tutors for the 2014-2015 school year, with more than 1,100 literacy tutors and up to 200 math tutors being placed in schools throughout Minnesota. Minnesota Reading Corps and Math Corps are statewide, research-based initiatives to help every Minnesota student become a successful reader by the end of third grade or become proficient in math by the end of eighth grade. There are approximately 900 sites awarded tutors throughout the state of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Reading Corps program, in particular, received national attention recently after a rigorous third-party evaluation, commissioned by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), found that elementary students tutored by AmeriCorps members achieved significantly higher literacy levels than students without such tutors, and that the impacts were statistically significant even among students at higher risk of academic failure. Among other key findings, after a single semester of tutoring, the average kindergarten student with an AmeriCorps tutor performed twice as well as students without one. Also, Minnesota Reading Corps tutors helped the average first grade student perform 11 percent better than untutored peers, and 26 percent higher than the expected level for on-track students after one semester of tutoring. More information, including a research brief, full report, appendices, process assessment, and other materials can be found on the CNCS research page.

According to data from 2013 state standardized tests, one in three Minnesota third graders does not read at grade level, and 40 percent of Minnesota 8th graders do not demonstrate proficiency in math. Executive Director at Minnesota Reading Corps and Math Corps Sheila Piippo explained that schools are turning to Minnesota Reading Corps and Math Corps to help struggling students who would otherwise not receive additional support.

"We are seeing real results and are encouraged that students who previously were not on track to succeed are now catching up to their peers."

Piippo encourages anyone interested in learning more about Minnesota Reading Corps or Math Corps, or to apply to serve as a tutor, to visit MinnesotaReadingCorps.org or MinnesotaMathCorps.org, or contact 866-859-2825.

About Minnesota Reading Corps:
Minnesota Reading Corps is a statewide program to help every Minnesota child become a successful reader by the end of third grade. The program places trained AmeriCorps tutors in schools, where they work with children from age three to grade three who are at risk for not reading at grade level. AmeriCorps tutors provide individualized research-based interventions directly to children. For more information, please visit www.minnesotareadingcorps.org.

About Minnesota Math Corps:
Minnesota Math Corps is a statewide program to help Minnesota students become proficient in math by the end of eighth grade. The program places trained AmeriCorps tutors in Minnesota schools to work with students in grades four through eight to provide research-based math practice. For more information, please visit www.minnesotamathcorps.org.