A tutoring program says it improved Indianapolis reading scores. It’s only funded through this school year

Circle City Readers — an Indianapolis tutoring program to address K-3 grade literacy gaps at public schools — has improved reading for over 750 students at ten schools since 2023, according to a new report from the Mayor’s Office of Education Innovation.

Now, program leaders are seeking new funding to continue beyond the current school year.

The American Rescue Plan Act infused the program with $1.2 million. It was created to address learning loss during the pandemic — in 2021 just 67% passed the state’s elementary reading exam. In 2024, the city provided $1 million to sustain the program through next spring.

Tutors work with students during the school day, using the science of reading, an evidence-based approach that emphasizes phonics and phonemic awareness.

“In kindergarten through third grade, you are learning to read, and then from third grade on, you are reading to learn,” said Shaina Cavazos, director of the mayor’s education office, which administers the program. “So that third-grade proficiency milestone is a really important one.”
 

Under Indiana law, third graders must pass the IREAD-3 assessment to advance to fourth grade. The test measures whether students have mastered basic reading skills. Last month, new statewide data showed that 3.6% of third graders, or about 3,000 students, did not pass the exam the previous spring and are repeating third grade this school year despite a record jump in scores overall.

According to the report from the mayor’s education office, Circle City Readers reduced the share of participating students reading "far below" grade level by more than 20 percentage points last school year. The percentage of students reading at or above grade level rose from 21% to 35%.

"We know that we have a program that works and with the right support, we can scale that to meet the need of our county and really create an opportunity for Indianapolis, I think, to be a model — even nationally — for what it can look like to provide this targeted, intensive support for students," said Cavazos.

The office estimates that the program costs $2,000 per student.

The mayor’s education office hopes it can use Circle City Readers to serve the Marion County K-3 grade students struggling with reading. This year, nearly 77% of students in the county passed IREAD.

Contact WFYI data journalist Zak Cassel at zcassel@wfyi.org.