non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
,
volunteer
Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
-driven tutoring program local to
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
for at-risk K-3 readers. SMART was developed by
Neil Goldschmidt
Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportati ...
and the law firm Ater Wynne Hewitt Dodson & Skerritt, LLP in 1992.Baker, Scott, Russell Gersten and Thomas Keating. When less may be more: A 2-year longitudinal evaluation of a volunteer tutoring program requiring minimal training '. Reading Research Quarterly, Volume 35, Number 4; Oct-Dec. 2000. It has grown from serving 585 children at 8 schools at its inception to serving 7,244 children at 204 sites in 2009, and 223 sites in 2011. As of December 2011, the organization's annual budget was $2.7 million.
The program concept involves each student getting one-on-one attention twice a week for 30 minutes as they read to a volunteer to help boost their confidence in their reading ability. Additionally, the students get to take two books home each month over the seven months the program runs each year (mid-October to mid-May), in order to make more reading material available at home.
The program's effectiveness is backed by a two-year study performed at the Eugene Research Institute which indicates SMART students outperform similar students in word identification and word comprehension by nearly a half standard deviation.
SMART aims to partner foremost with schools that have a high percentage of children from
low-income
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
families. School staff interviews, community support, and information from the
Oregon Department of Education
The Department of Education of the U.S. state of Oregon is responsible for implementing the state's public education policies, including academic standards and testing, credentials, and other matters not reserved to the local districts and boa ...
also influence school selection.
In 2010, SMART participated in
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
Compensatory education Compensatory education offers supplementary programs or services designed to help children at risk of cognitive impairment and low educational achievement succeed.
Children at risk of disadvantages
Poor children do worse in school than their well ...