Tarrant’s students have seen improvements in reading thanks to the new program. Its funding has dried up

A rickety Jenga tower came crashing down, scattering words across a table at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County’s Martin Branch building on Fort Worth’s east side.

As a small group of kindergarten and first grade students put back together what they had knocked over a few seconds earlier, they read the marked blocks.

“Forward!”

“Fourth!”

“Was!”

“Where!”

The pattern continued with each student carefully placing the last word on top of the previous one.

While the competition was fierce, the educational value of the game was clear. Heartfelt word games like this one not only make learning fun, they also improve reading skills in some Fort Worth students, according to Parent Shield Fort Worth. So much so that parents are eager to get more involved.

As children master the words of the heart, their parents become more aware of the importance of early reading intervention. Although more than 90% of Tarrant County parents believe their children read at an appropriate grade level, only half of children in the county read, according to data from Go Beyond Grades, a campaign launched by the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Parent Pass and The Miles Foundation.

The LIFT program, run at two Fort Worth Boys & Girls Clubs locations in partnership with Parent Shield, was designed to close the gap and improve reading for students in kindergarten through fifth grade across Fort Worth. But with initial funding running out, the program is in jeopardy.

Intervention can make a difference, said Vernessa Evans, principal consultant for the LIFT program.

“You can’t overstate the need for this,” Evans said. “When we first assessed students, we found that 64 percent were not reading at grade level. Then we talked to parents—many had no idea.

Parents take the initiative

When Fort Worth resident Nancy Horne noticed that her daughter, then first-grader Olivia Dawson, was struggling to read, she used her newfound bond to intervene.

Horne had met earlier with Trenace Dorsey-Hollins, executive director of Parent Shield, and recalled the many options Dorsey-Hollins had recommended to her and Olivia. At the time, none of them were working.

Horne knew her daughter had a reading problem, but she didn’t have the time or resources to tutor her children. She couldn’t afford to hire someone to do it, she said. She’s not alone.

Launched in March 2023, LIFT was born out of the experiences of Horne and other parents. Dorsey-Hollins saw a need for after-school academic support for students whose parents couldn’t afford to read to their children at bedtime—and for those who didn’t even know their child was struggling.

“I just didn’t feel like I gave as much as I could,” Horne said. “We were busy with work and didn’t have time to help her as much as we would like. It came just in time for her.”

Still, Dorsey-Hollins said most parents in Project LIFT had no idea their children’s reading problems were so severe.

The LIFT program, which ended June 27, provided structured reading activities twice a week during the school year and four days a week during the summer.

The curriculum, taught in groups of three students divided by age or reading level, was filled with lessons on pronunciation and sentence structure. Dorsey-Hollins said the program’s focus on small-group instruction may have also played a role.

“This approach really worked in terms of not only filling those gaps, but it really built relationships with and between a lot of students,” Dorsey-Hollins said. “The interventionists were able to build real relationships with the parents. The parents were more open to feedback.”

“I already have a teenager”

This structured approach, combined with engaging activities like the word “Jenga,” was ultimately intended to develop students’ literacy skills – and that’s exactly what it achieved.

“The (final) data shows that there was a year and a half increase from the time of the initial assessment to the time of the assessment,” Dorsey-Hollins said.

Horne said she also noticed marked improvement in Olivia’s reading skills throughout the year.

Olivia, now entering third grade, initially struggled with passing or failing grades in reading, but finished the last six weeks of school on the AB honor roll, Horne said.

The transformation wasn’t just academic. Horne stated that she has noticed a significant increase in her daughters’ confidence and vocabulary.

“She came home, literally speaking… she came home, calling things permanent,” Horne said. “It’s like I already have a teenager.”

Juanita Aldama, a LIFT interventionist, also noticed an increase in her students’ overall self-confidence. She is responsible for 12 of LIFT’s 25 students, who are split between the two Boys & Girls Clubs locations.

“I saw that reading came easier to them, and seeing kids who are really interested in reading and learning was a huge reward for me,” Aldama said.

Despite all its successes, LIFT’s future is uncertain, Dorsey-Hollins said. The first round of the program was funded through a grant to Parent Shield, and as demand for such interventions grows, securing funding is key, she said.

“We definitely want to secure more funding so we can expand and then do the same thing in more locations and with more students,” she said.

Parents like Horne can’t wait for LIFT to continue.

“If they offer it again, I will definitely sign up. It was a game changer for my kids,” she said.

For now, the end of the program will leave a gap that parents and educators hope to fill soon. Until then, what has Dorsey-Hollins taken away from the show’s success?

“Just knowing that parents are taking responsibility for their children’s education.”

Disclosure: The Sid W. Richardson Foundation and the Miles Foundation have been financial sponsors report from Fort Worth. News decisions in the Fort Worth Report are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy Here.

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @MatthewSgroi1. At Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial sponsors. Read more about our editorial independence policy Here.

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