NEW ALBANY, Ind.  – Indiana University Southeast’s Project AHEAD program received a $12,555 grant from the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County to establish a Reading Clinic to improve the reading skills of struggling elementary students in the New Albany-Floyd County school system.

Project AHEAD began at IU Southeast in 1986, offering enrichment courses for gifted and talented students. Over 30 years, it has expanded into a community outreach program offering students a chance to participate in STEM, life skills, and human-interest classes while experiencing the IU Southeast campus environment.

The grant will allow approximately 60 struggling readers in second to fifth grade to attend the Reading Clinic at no cost and get assistance from senior IU Southeast students majoring in elementary education that are trained in reading assessment and intervention and are equipped to provide personalized growth plans and evidence-based training to elementary students.

The Reading Clinic will include a spring session, Feb. 9 and 16, a fall session, Sept. 14 and 21 and a Thanksgiving session, Nov. 9 and 16. Each elementary student will receive four 90-minute periods, for a total of six hours of training per student. Students will also receive a free book after each tutoring session to encourage reading at home.

“We’re excited about having a reading clinic as part of Project AHEAD because it is mutually beneficial,” said Jacquelyn Singleton, assistant professor of elementary education at IU Southeast. “It’s benefiting the elementary students because they’re getting individualized instruction in reading that they may not have the chance to get otherwise, and it’s also benefiting our School of Education students because they are going to have this great service learning opportunity.”

Students can register for the Reading Clinic online through Project AHEAD. For more information about the program, contact Jessie Moore at jm12@iu.edu.