ANN ARBOR—Created by the U.S. Department of Education, the America Reads Challenge calls upon all Americans to help ensure that every child can read well and independently by the end of the third grade. To bolster that goal, the University of Michigan’s America Reads program will host a conference on May 12, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., in Mason Hall on U-M’s Central Campus.

[Map of Central Campus, Mason Hall middle left]

The program will foster an exchange of ideas about designing, starting, and operating a quality literacy tutoring program that recruits and trains college and university students to be reading and writing tutors for early elementary school children.

The workshops will address “Building a Coalition to Start an America Reads Program”; “Building Relationships with Schools and School Districts”; “Recruitment and Retention”; “Assessment and Evaluation”; “Training.”

The keynote address will be given at 9:30 a.m. by Frances Bond, coordinator of the America Reads Challenge and special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Registration is required and is $14 for faculty, staff, and community members ($10 per person for groups of five or more), and $7 for college students (undergraduate and graduate).

To register or for more information, contact Albert Wat at (734) 647-7766 or through e-mail at rmarion@umich.edu. Online and additional information is available at http://www.umich.edu/~mserve/AmericaReads/html/Conference.html.

Department of EducationCentral Campusrmarion@umich.edu