Project MORE, Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence, is a evidence based reading volunteer reading mentoring project for students with disabilities, that has demonstrated statistically significant reading results since 1999. Independent research findings consistently report students with specific learning disabilities make month for month reading level gains when they are 1:1 reading mentored four times/week for 30 minutes. Project MORE, formerly funded by the Ohio Department of Education is a non profit program that must rely on fees for services and private donations in order to complete our goal of every child with a reading deficit will learn to read.
According to an independent evaluation conducted by the Center for Evaluation Services, Bowling Green State University during the 2002-2008 school years, Project MORE significantly increased the reading levels of students with disabilities on both informal and standardized reading assessments. Based on the independent evaluation, Project MORE has demonstrated that 1:1 structured, volunteer reading mentoring is Effective, Affordable, Replicable and Sustainable (EARS). Project MORE: Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence is a scientifically based reading research program that follows the No Child Left Behind” high expectation for all” standard. Initially, Project MORE was designed to raise the expectations and performance for children with disabilities in the area of reading, but has also proven effective for students at-risk for reading failure.
According to Dr. Rich Wilson, Co-Director for the Center for Evaluation Services, Bowling Green State University “Over a six year period of time, evaluation results have shown that Project MORE students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) made one-month reading gain for each month of structured intervention”.
Project MORE, is funded by the Ohio Department of Education’s Office for Exceptional Children and collaborates with the Ohio Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities. The project has two goals:
- Demonstrate that students with disabilities can significantly increase their reading skills using a structured volunteer reading mentoring program, in addition to their IEP services; and
- Ensure that greater numbers of students with disabilities pass Ohio’s grade level reading achievement tests.
“I have never seen one program that positively impacts students with disabilities as much as this reading mentoring program,” said Jan Osborn, Superintendent of Schools, Putnam County ESC.
During the 2012/13 school year, Project MORE served more than 4,350 students with disabilities and students at risk for reading failure in 284 schools.
Project MORE & Response to Intervention (RtI)
Project MORE has been proven to be an Effective, Affordable, Replicable and Sustainable reading mentoring intervention for schools. Project MORE aligns with the federal IDEA Early Intervening Services requirement that there should be a greater emphasis on use of intervention services. This project minimizes over-identification and prevents unnecessary referrals to special education.
Project MORE aligns to the federal three-tiered model for special education and remedial education services as a Tier II and Tier III intervention strategy. According to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Project MORE meets the requirements to be an effective and affordable tutoring program for schools in academic need. Project MORE’s research and evaluation indicates value added benefits for children with disabilities, their families, schools and communities.