Indy Learning Team, MLK Center program targets low literacy rates

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indy Learning Team is continuing it’s mission to break what they call the cycle of low literacy. As the school year wraps up, organizers will be welcoming it’s summer session learners.

The pandemic has had detrimental impacts on students across the board, with Black and Brown students most often impacted the hardest. A partnership between the MLK Center and the Indy Learning Team hopes to improve those odds by providing one on one reading support.

Learning to read during a pandemic has been tough, particularly tough for kids grades pre-k through third.

“Our goal here at the MLK center is to get kids to read at grade level,” MLK Center after school coordinator, LaCrisha Hollins, said.

Those early years of learning to read, students often need a lot of one on one support. The virtual classrooms where many kids began their learning process hasn’t been quite enough.

“We have a lot of kids in first grade who may have missed kindergarten, and kindergartners that missed pre-k,” Hollins said.

Throughout the year, volunteer tutors are partnered with young readers.

“It’s been a challenge for us to help them get the sounds of letters, and then begin to blend to be able to read,” Hollins said.

As the school year ends, they are prepping for summer support. They hope to welcome 50 kids.

“We partnered with school 43, so we’ll start there. We still offer some area programming to kids outside of school 43. Those in the 46208 and 46205 ZIP,” Hollins said.

Advocates say it’s vital to continue the learning process in the summer. Kids who are new to reading and go the entire summer without practicing could potentially lose a year worth of progress.

Representatives say having a diverse pool of tutors also helps in the learning process since some students tend to be more receptive to tutors who look like them.