Words Matter: Reading Program Benefits Volunteers, Kids

In Susan Dyar’s third grade classroom at Field Elementary in Mesa, students usually look forward to reading time. It’s a fun part of the day, with stories, games and group activities.

But for a few students, reading time means stepping out of class to meet with a tutor.

“I always worry that they’re upset about missing something,” Dyar says. But that doesn't seem to be the case. “They never complain.”

That’s because those students aren’t just leaving class. They’re heading to a one-on-one session with a volunteer from AARP Foundation Experience Corps, a program that pairs adults 50 and older with young students to help improve their literacy skills.

Experience Corps operates in 18 communities across the country. During the 2023-2024 school year, 1,284 senior volunteers worked with 3,659 kids to boost reading ability. Arizona is host to four programs, at schools in Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix and Pinal County. Volunteers serve as reading tutors for students through third grade, focusing on fluency and comprehension, which are vital to setting the foundation for academic success.

“Third grade is kind of a transition year where they go from learning to read to reading to learn,” says Dyar, who has taught for about 30 years.

That’s where tutors like Carol Ewing come in.

Twice a week, Ewing arrives at Mesa's Falcon Hill Elementary, where she spends 30 minutes one-on-one with four students. Using AARP’s structured curriculum, Ewing and her pupils spend part of the session doing reading games and then she reads aloud a book of the child’s choice. The games are interactive reading exercises that engage the students, like taking turns reading sentences or what is called “echo” reading, where the student repeats what the tutor reads. Ewing’s four students — all girls — especially love the game that calls for reading in dramatic voices.

“We each have to take our turn of doing a silly voice — either a British accent or the craziest voice they can come up with,” Ewing says. “And they look at me like, ‘I didn’t know you could do that. You sound so different, Miss Carol.’”

For Ewing, volunteering is more than just a way to stay active in retirement. It’s personal. Years ago, her granddaughter struggled with reading and eventually dropped out of school.

“She struggled so much, and I just wish somebody had been there at the school to help her,” Ewing says.

Reading program expanding

Mesa launched its Experience Corps program in early 2024 with six schools. It added two more this year and plans an additional two — bringing the total to 10 — next year. Catherine White, the city’s education and workforce development coordinator, says the program has 40 active tutors working with more than 150 students.

“We are lucky to have a large pool of adults over 50 in Mesa,” White notes. Recruitment happens through city newsletters, libraries, community partners and, increasingly, word of mouth.

While many tutors work in person, others, like Stephanie Brown of Maryland, support Arizona students virtually. A retired librarian, Brown started with the program in June 2022 and now tutors four students in second and third grade at Pinal County’s Stanfield Elementary School from her home computer some 2,000 miles away in Baltimore.

For Brown, who turns 65 in June, the experience has been deeply fulfilling.

“It’s so important,” she says. “It’s an adult figure that really cares about them and is their cheerleader,” she says.

One of her students, a shy second grader, barely spoke above a whisper when they first met online. Then Brown learned the girl loves to sing, and she encouraged her to sing the lines during the dramatic reading game.

“She just came alive with that,” says Brown. The student eventually opened up to Brown about her grandmother, who was sick. Brown began to check in with the student about her grandmother at the start of each session and realized it helped put the girl at ease before transitioning to reading.

That connection is by design. According to Renee Parker, director of community partnerships for Mesa Public Schools, the program isn’t just about literacy. It is helping many students find belonging, especially after the pandemic.

“Having that one-on-one connection with that person who cares about them has even helped attendance,” Parker says.

Studies show the program works. Students tutored by Experience Corps volunteers often see significant gains in reading skills and comprehension, according to independent studies. But the benefits go both ways, as volunteers also report feeling a renewed sense of purpose and community.

“The kids make you feel younger and they make you feel so needed and special,” Brown says. “You really get so much back.”

For those interested in joining, the commitment is typically two days a week during the school year. AARP Foundation provides training, materials and ongoing support.

To learn more about AARP Foundation Experience Corps or to volunteer, visit aarp.org/experience-corps.

Stacey Shepard, a California-based journalist, writes about health care, the environment and other issues.

Also of interest:

• AARP Foundation Experience Corps
• Volunteer To Help Kids Become Better Readers
• Volunteer With AARP