We Need Volunteers in Our Schools to Help Children with Their Foundational Math and Reading Skills.
Why this Should Matter to You:
- Reading and math are our most basic workforce skills.
- Workforce development is an economic development took and an anti-poverty, antiviolence strategy for our community.
The iRead • iCount® Program Volunteers have generated positive outcomes for kindergarten and first grade students.
School District Data:
- The Fall 2023 iCount Program median mathematics score for Urbana first grade students was 6.19 percent higher than the median score of the entire first grade population. (Data for the Fall 2024 iCount Program will be updated when it is received).
- The Spring 2024 iRead Urbana kindergarten students who scored in the Meets or Exceeds assessment categories grew by 10.02 percent.
- No data is available for Champaign at this time.
Illinois State Report Card Assessment Data Trends from 2022-2024:
- Most students who participate in the iRead • iCount® Program tend to be achieving below grade level. The assessment data suggests that interventions such as iRead • iCount® are making a difference and helping students to make progress to overcome academic deficits. While some students are still below grade level, they are not as far below grade level as they were in the past.
- The number of students in the two lowest assessment categories, Did Not Meet and Partially Met, showed a reduction over time, and the highest below grade level category, Approached, showed an increase. There was also a slight increase in students who were performing at grade level.
Volunteers will be needed for the Fall iCount Program – Program dates will be announced later this spring.
- Volunteers are needed in Champaign and Urbana public elementary schools to help the hundreds of students that need extra help to develop foundational math skills.
- Volunteers who are fluent in Spanish and French are encouraged to volunteer at schools with dual-language programs.
- To volunteer for the Fall 2025 iCount Program, will be posted later this spring.
- Once they are posted, please click the link below to get a PDF application. Then print, complete and send it to the school district as directed on the cover letter. Repeat volunteers will only need to complete the first page.
Application Deadline for the Fall iCount Program: TBD
To volunteer in Champaign, click here to download a PDF of the volunteer application.
To volunteer in Urbana, click here to download a PDF of the volunteer application.
We can shape the future of our community by growing sucessful young children into successful adults or we can sit back and let the community shape itself.
- The quality of our schools impact almost every aspect of our community. Our schools need the community to be engaged and to help them with students who need extra attention with reading and math.
- Literacy and math skills are deficient for a significant percentage of young area children. Studies provide these students will have a hard time catching up and may continue to fall behind.
- With additional supports, these students will be more likely to succeed in learning so they can find good jobs to make sustainable wages and are more likely to be productive contributors to our local economy and workforce.
Select the school district you would like to volunteer at below:
To volunteer in Champaign, click here to download a PDF of the volunteer application.
To volunteer in Urbana, click here to download a PDF of the volunteer application.
We Can Do Better for Our Community. We Have to Do Better for Our Community.
We have the responsibility and ability to help the future workforce generation succeed by strengthening the foundation for literacy and math education for our youngest, most vulnerable students.
To answer this need, the iRead Program is offered in the spring and the iCount Program is offered in the fall at Champaign and Urbana primary schools.
- The iRead • iCount® Program puts community volunteers into primary school classrooms to spend one hour a week working directly with early learners to develop and reinforce basic reading and math skills.
- Volunteers only need to volunteer one hour a week to make a workd of a difference for these students by helping them develop foundational skills. These skills are crucial for academic success now and in the future.
We Need You to Volunteer So We Can Assist More Children this Spring. Can We Count on You for an Hour Each Week?
- We will need hundreds lot of volunteers to assist young students in both kindergarten and first grade with their math skills this fall.
- Volunteers will work one-on-one with students to complete fun and engaging activities.
- Volunteers can choose their school and a time that works for their schedules.
- Volunteers will be fully trained on all activities prior to working with students.
- The reward of helping a child build these crucial skills is immeasurable.
If you are interested in volunteering, please use the link above to select which school district you would like to volunteer at.
Can We (i)Count on You?
If we want a prepared workforce for our future, we need to build the foundation now. And, it will take the community to build this foundation. We hope we can count on you to help!
Questions? Please contact Cheryl Barringer at ireadicount@champaigncounty.org or call 217-359-1791.
Teacher Testimonials
Sara Abbott, 1st Grade Teacher
Urbana District 116
“The students love having a special guest to learn one-on-one with them, and each tutor is so friendly that the students always have a smile on their face when they are working together. ”
Susie Myers, 1st Grade Teacher
Urbana District 116
Straight from the students’ mouths:
Laila - “I like the game mouse eater.”
Sanaa - “I like the sandbox because you write words in it.”
Eli - “I like spelling words and then I got better and better.”
Jamie - “I like when we play the games like learning cards.”
Anton - “I like doing my ABCs.”
Katelyn Shamhart, 1st Grade Teacher
Champaign Unit 4
“Whoever scheduled the iRead tutor group, THANK YOU a million times over!! The volunteers have been so kind, helpful, my students love them, and it is so nice they have a routine that we don’t have to prep for. Thank you SOOOOO much, we are beyond grateful :)”
