University Student Reading Buddies

Reader Reed Schneider emails this:

A plan to have 40 Spring Arbor University students serve next year as “reading buddies” for struggling first-graders in Jackson Public Schools could be a win-win situation.
The Jackson school board recently cut three Reading Recovery teacher positions to help trim its $1.86 million deficit.
JPS will obtain the services of 40 people who plan to make education their future profession, at a very low cost — $1,800 to transport the Spring Arbor students to elementary buildings. The remaining cost of the $69,780 program will go toward various training programs for teachers in the district. Overall, the district will save $221,287 over the Reading Recovery program.

“I’m sure there are a couple thousand students in the UW-Madison School of Education. With numbers like that, you could save many $100,000’s by getting rid of Reading Recovery and still have two teachers for every former RR kid.”