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February 9, 2005

Kellough puts help where it’s needed

It’s no secret that in recent decades, the primary public school system has seen a increase in need of quality teachers and a shortage of positive supplemental programs. Between budget cuts and lack of time and other pertinent resources, those students who need that extra push ahead, sometimes get left behind.

Teacher education professor Noreen Kellough recognized this area of need and responded. And this year she was honored with the College of Education’s Outstanding Community Service Award.

Under her direction, the Sacramento State READERS Program—an acronym for Reaching Excellence After Developing Effective Reading Skills—recruits, trains and supervises more than 300 tutors, accommodating about 600 first- through third-grade students each year. This early intervention reading program realizes the needs of the area’s Title 1 schools, and encompasses three districts—North Sacramento, Folsom-Cordova and Sacramento City—at no cost to the schools.

Kellough believes it is of utmost importance to uphold the College of Education’s mission, embracing the diversity of the community and building on its strengths while addressing its needs.

Alongside fellow Sacramento State professor Pamela O’Kane, Kellough trains students through the course EDTE 103: Tutoring Children in Reading, providing them with the tools necessary to act as tutor, role model and friend to at-risk children. The tutors work individually with two assigned children 60-90 minutes per day, two times per week in a before- or after-school program. Because this program is just as rewarding for tutors as it is for the students, Kellough promotes involvement from majors such as criminal justice and social work.

“Our job as role models is just as important as our job as tutors,” Kellough explained. She encourages the tutors to inspire and motivate the students to pursue higher education and excel in the areas in which they are working below grade level. The impact READERS has made is phenomenal, as the program has been shown to foster better school attendance, higher self-esteem and increased chances for graduating from high school. Kellough assures the program is “not competing with, only supporting” the public school system.

Being honored with the Outstanding Community Service Award, Kellough feels is the “icing on the cake,” for she initially believed she was being honored for her voluntary community service with the Sacramento Children’s Home. Her love for her work runs parallel to her love for her community.

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