OXFORD, Miss. – Eight-year-old Al’Nayiah Dean loves to
read, and her favorite book is “Only the Stars.”
Dean is among 15 students at Oxford Elementary School
receiving one-on-one reading instruction from 15 University
of Mississippi senior elementary education majors. The
after-school program is helping Dean, who dreams of
becoming a teacher herself.
“I like reading, because it makes me better at things,”
said the third-grader.
In this pilot program of UM’s new Center for Excellence in
Literacy Instruction, tutors meet twice weekly with secondand
third-graders who are struggling readers. They practice
reading to improve their comprehension skills and increase
fluency.
A $1.5 million Robert M. Hearin Foundation grant funded
CELI, which aims to prepare reading and literacy teachers
with the skills to effectively teach all children to read
though intensive hands-on training, professional
development and mentoring. A master’s degree program in
literacy education is scheduled to begin next summer.
Dean’s tutor, 22-year-old Shy Galloway of Wiggins, enjoys
helping the children. Gallaway said the tutoring sessions,
which are part of the Reading Diagnosis and Intervention
course work for senior elementary education majors, give
her a better understanding of the students’ needs and
empower her to improve her teaching strategies.
“Al’Nayiah’s reading and comprehension skills improve every
day,” Galloway said. “She is reading more fluently and has
better word recognition. I’m really excited about her
improvements.”
Oxford Elementary principal Evelyn Smith said she is
thankful for the partnership between her school and the UM
School of Education.
“We’re hoping to build success with our struggling
readers,” she said. “These one-on-one tutors are extremely
beneficial for our students.”
CELI director Angela Rutherford said, “Our tutors first
assessed the individual student’s reading development, and
then based their lesson plans on each student’s reading
needs; it’s individual, specialized tutoring.”
For more information, call 662-915-7063 or visit