Elizabeth Birr Moje comments on new DPSCD literacy intervention initiative 

Detroit district high school students who are two or more grade levels behind in reading will receive cash gift cards as an incentive to attend after-school tutoring sessions. The initiative was included in the district budget approved by the school board in June, and is expected to begin during the school year. 

Moje believes the plan is a pragmatic approach because it gives some students who would otherwise have to work a chance to earn an income while improving their literacy skills. It also has exciting activities, social interaction, and opportunities for students to see growth in their reading skills, she says.

Moje says, “The best outcomes from tutoring are high-dosage tutoring offered by a trained tutor, and preferably a certified teacher, and that’s just for general tutoring. So if we’re talking about helping someone who really needs those reading supports, then they’re really going to need to have people who know what they’re doing and not simply volunteers."

As a literacy expert, she stresses the importance of ensuring intervention is tailored to the needs of each student, recognizing that not all students struggle with the same issues. “A program that only focuses, for example, on foundational skills is probably not going to meet the needs of most of the students, but it certainly won’t meet the needs of all of the students. By the same token, a program that would only focus on high level comprehension skills may not meet the needs of all of the students,” Moje says.