Tutoring Clinic

In 2023, we began providing free tutoring services to children who are striving readers. This half of the EOURC’s mission involves providing direct services to children in need of support in developing literacy skills. Trained university student tutors provide one-on-one or small group instruction tailored to the needs and skills of each student three or more days each week. To reduce barriers, tutors provide these services at no cost to families and in various settings and times. Some provide services at school during the school day or during after-school programs, and others provide services remotely using technology. The methods used are designed to accelerate learning to get students reading proficiently as quickly as possible.

Last year, we hired and trained 19 EOU students to work as reading tutors in local schools. Tutors each served between 3 and 6 children four days a week, working on foundational reading skills through evidence-based methods. Not only did school districts see the impact in student literacy achievement in their data, but they were also “most appreciative that college students and kids were connected and that so many students were supported to not only effectively become readers, but also enjoy school and maybe glimpse a new and exciting future for themselves” (Scott Carpenter, Assistant Superintendent in La Grande School District). The tutoring services work within the EOURC is inherently connected to the communities that surround us. In our first year, the EOURC Tutoring Clinic provided tutoring services to 173 children in 11 school districts throughout Oregon. Our tutors provided over 3,300 one-on-one tutoring sessions. With each of the districts, we co-created models for tutoring that fit the context of the district. We worked to design tutor models for both during school and after-school programs. We also worked to provide remote tutoring to children before and during school times providing access to underserved remote areas of Oregon. All of these districts have gratefully welcomed our tutors in providing support to their children which they would not otherwise receive, and are eager to continue receiving services from us in future years. Our goal is to continue to sustain tutoring services at this level and we are currently seeking funding to help create a long-term, sustainable tutoring program.

Children across Oregon are experiencing poor outcomes related to literacy. According to NAEP (2022), 65% of Oregon 4th graders are not proficient in reading. The statistics for children of color and those experiencing poverty are even more grim, and many of these subgroups are located in rural parts of Oregon that are historically underserved. In rural Eastern Oregon, there are rarely services available outside of schools to support children who are struggling with literacy skills. Additionally, many families do not have the resources to provide additional services for their children if they are available. The consequences of children not becoming proficient readers are also dire. Children who are not proficient readers are more likely to do poorly in school, have more school absences, and display behavioral issues. Adults with low levels of literacy also struggle in the workplace, are more likely to live in poverty, and are more likely to be involved in criminal activity (Reading Partners, 2017). The Eastern Oregon University Reading Clinic believes that literacy is a civil right and that we have the capacity to fill some of the gaps in services to ensure better literacy outcomes to the underserved children in Oregon through tutoring services. Thanks to advances in technology, we can serve children in isolated locations through remote tutoring while also providing services in-person for students in our local area. The EOU Reading Clinic provides these educational services at no-cost to families that are otherwise not available in rural Oregon. We want to be the organization that can bring about equity in literacy education. As we continue with our mission to ensure all teachers to have the skills and knowledge to support the literacy development of children in their classrooms, we also want to be able to provide support to children who need intervention beyond what the schools can provide. We believe that the EOU Reading Clinic can be the vehicle to move toward equity in instruction and learning experiences across Oregon.

Clinic Director