Holy Family Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, founded The Augustine Project in 1994. The mission of the Augustine Project is to improve the reading, writing and spelling abilities of low-income children and teens who struggle with literacy skills. The local replication, Augustine Literacy Project in Upstate SC, was started in 2006 under the leadership of Maxine Bennett.
Tutor Training
The program provides each tutor with 70 hours of training (classroom and practicum) derived from the Orton-Gillingham approach, using research-based reading materials from a variety of sources, including the Wilson Reading System®. The Orton-Gillingham approach is a systematic, multisensory, phonetic teaching methodology that is proven to work with those who have language related learning difficulties.
Upon satisfactory completion of the Augustine training, each tutor is paired with a low income child (qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch) and commits to work with him or her pro bono for a minimum of 60 sessions. Tutors usually meet with their students at the child’s school two or three times a week. An Augustine lesson is 45 minutes long.
Comprehensive pre and post testing — using professionally recognized instruments to measure phonological awareness, word attack, rapid naming, fluency, comprehension and spelling — is administered to evaluate student progress.
Augustine tutors’ lessons include the five essential components of research-based reading instruction as defined by the National Reading Panel: phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension.
Redeemer Connection
The Session and Deacon Board of Redeemer Presbyterian Church have been involved with the Augustine Literacy Project since its beginning, first with financial support and now extending to general oversight. Several Redeemer folks are involved with Augustine as tutors, trainers, or board members: Maxine Bennett, Ann Copeland, Mary Anne Inglis, Terri Koontz, Shayla Read, Katie Traynham
Get More Information
To learn more about how you can be involved with the Augustine Literacy Project visit the web site or contact any of the following board members:
