MSUM students team up with Moorhead schools to boost early literacy
A new literacy program in Moorhead is pairing MSUM students with elementary classrooms to help K–3 learners improve reading skills.
By Michael McGurran
WDAY/Inforum
MOORHEAD — College students are getting hands-on classroom experience while helping some of Moorhead’s youngest learners strengthen their reading skills through a new pilot literacy program that’s already showing promise.
Inside classrooms at SG Reinertson and Dorothy Dodds Elementary schools, college students are stepping into the teacher’s role, helping children take their first big steps toward becoming confident readers.
“We pull them during the day for about 20- to 25-minute sessions, depending on what they are working on, and we just target the instruction to fit their needs,” said Abigail Kor, a junior at Minnesota State University Moorhead studying elementary and special education.
Kor is one of several future educators working with students in kindergarten through third grade.
“It’s amazing just to watch those little steps,” Kor said. “I mean, with K through three students, you already get to see them making little steps that mean so much. But then for those students that are maybe more behind, it’s just extra growth.”
The literacy pilot program is a collaboration between MSUM, Moorhead Area Public Schools, the Minnesota Department of Education and the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board. It connects college students preparing to become teachers with classrooms where they can immediately apply what they’re learning.
“It helps them continue to grow and pursue the passion of teaching, and makes a difference in their development as teachers,” said Lucy Payne, chair of the Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board, who was among education leaders who visited Moorhead on Thursday. “But most importantly, it makes a difference for our students.”