How STAIR Works

In the fall of every school year, STAIR's second grade students are identified by their teachers as at risk of academic failure. These children attend school regularly. STAIR is not designed to help children with special learning needs or behavioral problems. Rather, STAIR targets children who need assistance in reading and whose teachers believe their skills will blossom given one-on-one attention.

STAIR uses a step-by-step professionally detailed program designed to enhance the curriculum of the public schools. STAIR supplies the students with reading practice booklets, workbooks, and basic supplies such as pencils, crayons, glue sticks, and flashcards; free books and a dictionary also are provided. For many children, these are the only books for their reading level in the home.

For an hour and a half Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday after school (2 and a half hours on Saturday mornings), STAIR tutors work with their students to complete the lessons included in 5 units of reading instruction. The volunteer tutor and child read together, play word games, practice phonics and write stories. A bond is forged between tutor and student, and learning occurs in a safe, nurturing environment. The hundreds of individuals who volunteer their time and talent for this program understand that the single most important aspect of a young child's early academic development is the ability to read and comprehend.