Mercer University hires tutors to go to various locations around Macon to help kids read and write with the America Reads/ America Counts program. America Reads began in 1996 under President Clinton with the goal to enlist 1 million volunteer tutors to help give children the personal attention they need to catch up and get ahead. In 1997, Clinton expanded the program to include America Counts.
Margaret Rooyakkers, assistant director of service and civic engagement, oversees the America Reads/America Counts program at Mercer University. The program has been active on campus since 2015.
“We do have a higher rate of poverty in the area, and so just looking at our demographic data, it shows that there is a need,” Rooyakkers said of Macon-Bibb County. She believes the work directly aligns with Mercer’s motto, “Everyone majors in changing the world,” but here, the change starts at home.
“A child’s ability to read on grade level by the third grade is a predictor for how many beds we’re going to need in the jails down the line, as well as if a student will graduate from high school,” Rooyakkers says. She went on to explain that third grade is the cutoff for students to learn how to read, because students in the fourth grade start reading to learn instead of learning to read.
Rooyakkers says that one of her favorite things about the program is that she can hire as many tutors as she wants because it is paid for with federal funding. “Currently, students are being paid $15 to $16 an hour, which is well above minimum wage, so it allows students the opportunity if they want to work less hours because they’re getting that higher pay rate, or working more hours but still bringing home that higher pay rate,” Rooyakkers said.
For her, the most rewarding part is hearing about the amazing connections tutors make with students by the end of the year. Rooyakkers fondly remembers a student with behavioral issues getting the support and mentorship they needed through their tutor, which helped reverse negative behaviors.
Centenary United Methodist Church is a local organization that supports America Reads / America Counts. Reverend Sara Pugh Montgomery oversees the after-school program at the church.
Montgomery started the after-school program in 2022 when Alexander II Elementary School had suspended its after-school program. Parents reached out to her as the pastor at Centenary to see if there was room for the program at the church. After starting, a professor at Mercer University and a parent from Alexander II got her in contact with the America Reads/America Counts program at Mercer to get more tutors.
Since then, the tutors have been helping elementary school students at Centenary with their reading as well as with their homework every afternoon. “There are so many students that are below the reading levels, and this program really does help cultivate care in building up reading skills,” Montgomery said.
She says the students really do look up to their tutors and find it “cool” to have the opportunity to learn from college students, which helps them be more engaged than they would be if they were getting help from their parents.
“Reading is the foundation for all other learning, so the more that we can emphasize this, the better our students will be set up to succeed in life,” Montgomery said.
America Reads/America Counts benefits all involved. From fixing behavioral issues to college students having an opportunity for more income, and more notably, elementary school students getting the extra help they need for a better chance at a successful life.
