KENTWOOD, Mich. — Michigan ranks among the 10 worst states for childhood literacy rates, but a tutoring program in Kentwood is helping more students learn to enjoy reading — and a recent grant is keeping it alive.
Jazmin, a second grader at Discover Elementary, works regularly with her tutor, Chris Krive, through Michigan Education Corps, a nonprofit that provides high-impact tutoring services across the state.
Michigan Education Corps has partnered with Kentwood Public Schools since 2021, with Krive being one of six tutors currently working in the district.
Krive said the repetition built into the program is key to student progress.
"She had a lot of reading support with this intervention. So we would actually read a passage eight times, so there was a lot of repetition, which is something that is really important," Krive said.
Holly Windram, executive director of Michigan Education Corps., said the program is designed to work alongside what students are already learning in the classroom.
"We keep them focused on things that are evidence based, consistently implemented, aligned with what's happening in everyday classroom instruction, and then we can scale and grow," Holly said.
WATCH:Kentwood tutoring program helps hundreds of students amid Michigan's childhood literacy crisis:
She said the results speak for themselves.
"At Discovery in particular, we've served hundreds of kids for a number of years," Windram said. "I'm proud to say that 78% of those students are meeting or achieving their growth goals."
The program's work comes at a critical time. Governor Gretchen Whitmer addressed concerns over Michigan students' reading levels at Wednesday's State of the State address. Windram said the problem is widespread.
"In the State of Michigan, we have a literacy crisis, and not all students are achieving in literacy and math at the levels that we need them to be," Windram said.
Despite the need, the number of Michigan Education Corps tutors statewide has shrunk in recent years — dropping from 157 to 84 — following budget cuts.
The Jandernoa Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on education, community initiatives, and fostering entrepreneurship, gave a recent $150,000 donation to the Michigan Education Corps for work at Kentwood Public Schools.
"[T]hat gift made the difference in being able to keep that tutoring going for hundreds of kids in Kentwood," Windram said.
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