Leap Frog serves 60 students each week because of generous community support. Volunteers, teachers, school administrators, bus drivers, and parents and caregivers assure that students can participate in Leap Frog. Since its beginning as a church’s local mission project 30 years ago, Leap Frog remains free of charge for the participants. Community generosity makes an impact for generations to come.
Who Does Leap Frog Serve?
First- through third-grade teachers and counselors at Oxford and Lafayette County School Districts identify students whose literacy skills could improve with some additional support. These students lag in reading progress demonstrated by NWEA and STAR reading scores and receive Tier 2 reading supports at school. With support from parents and caregivers, identified students are invited to participate.
How Does Leap Frog Serve Students?
Students who make the commitment to Leap Frog attend Leap Frog four days each week.
Students spend 75 minutes each day working one-on-one with a volunteer tutor. We provide a curriculum developed by Really Great Reading with a learning guide developed for our volunteer tutors by retired teachers Dr. Ruth O’Dell and Cassie Dabbs, who donate their time. The Phonics Boost curriculum is leveled to each grade and complements classroom work. Students and their tutors work through the curriculum at their own pace, allowing for personalization.
Once students complete their phonics lesson, students and tutors read together and complete homework. Students and tutors often build bonds with their tutors and many have been working together over several semesters. Some of these friendships last a lifetime.
Following tutoring, homework, and reading, students will either enjoy some much earned free play time or participate in an enrichment program. Some of our enrichment opportunities include yoga, art programming and wellness activities.
The efforts of our Leap Frog volunteers and students pay off. We measure progress our students make using NWEA and STAR reading score changes during the school year. According to our 2019/2020 mid-year data, 59% of our students made moderate to significant progress in reading. Early reading skills are key to success throughout life.
Promising Outcomes
As mentioned, Leap Frog is provided free of charge to the families invited to participate. Our annual budget of $117,000 is made possible by support from local organizations, businesses, and individuals. We work hard to maximize our entire budget to the benefit of the students we serve and to recognize the consistent efforts of our volunteers.