The Vision:

Children at-risk for reading failure will learn to read and meet third grade benchmarks.

Our Mission:

Portland Reading Foundation, in conjunction with metropolitan Portland schools, identifies children in the primary grades who are most at-risk for failing to learn to read, and intervenes, providing these children with scientifically based, multi-sensory reading instruction to ensure that each child has the opportunity to become a proficient reader.

Our Approach:

• Partner with elementary schools serving low-income neighborhoods.
• Screen primary students to identify those most at-risk for failing to learn to read.
• Match at-risk students with professional reading specialists.
• Provide one-to-one and small group tutoring sessions three times per week.
• Use phonics-based, systematic multi-sensory strategies to improve fluency, comprehension, spelling, vocabulary, and writing.
• Train paraprofessionals and teachers in multi-sensory techniques that support struggling readers.

Participating Schools:

• Chief Joseph
• Gregory Heights
• Humboldt
• Irvington
• Vernon
• Woodlawn

Results:

• 75-80% of students at participating schools improved at least one grade level in decoding, fluency, and spelling after only six months of tutoring.
• At Woodlawn, of the 24 children entering the program below grade level, 70% tested above grade level after only six month of tutoring.