By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

LEWISBURG, W.Va. – For the past 26 years, a small yet mighty group of volunteers has been changing lives in the Greenbrier Valley — one book at a time. 

“We’re building a community committed to increasing literacy,” says Sally Lane, a 12-year volunteer. “People say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a couple of villages, at least.” 

Housed in the Educational Building of the Old Stone Presbyterian Church, the STAIR (Start The Adventure In Reading) program teaches second grade children how to read one-on-one. They spend two afternoons per week with seven students per year. 

The students, identified by teachers and principals in Greenbrier County Schools as needing a little extra help reading at grade-level, build relationships with their tutors throughout the school year.

“It’s non-judgmental,” explains Debbie Taylor. “The students aren’t in special education; they just need a little extra attention.”

Debbie Taylor, who has volunteered in the program for 14 years now, says it’s designed for students like herself. “When I was young, my brothers came home and showed off their grades, while I wanted to throw my report card in the bushes.”

She says this program appeals to students in the position she was in. “We try to make it fun!”

Students are read to by their tutors, read to their tutors, play games, enjoy snacks, and even read to dogs. 

“The students are not identified as special education,” says Becky Mahlburg, a 7-year volunteer. “They are the students who might fall between the cracks. Second grade is the last year they teach kids how to read.”

“The number one indicator of graduating is being able to read on grade-level by the end of second grade,” explains Sally Lane.  “That’s why STAIR targets second grade. They haven’t learned how they learn to read. Here, we can spend one-on-one time so that you can teach each child how to read in a way they can learn. Once you figure that out, you can move forward.”

Students begin the year with a simple assessment, which shows the adult volunteers at what level the students can read. They repeat the assessment at the end of the school year. And the results speak volumes. 

Only one student in the program’s history here locally has not been able to graduate. 

“You see their confidence increase as they’re able to read at a higher level,” Becky adds. 

“Everyone improves,” Debbie says. “Not everyone leaves reading on their grade-level, but they all improve. It’s just blown me away how well it’s done.” 

What’s the secret to the program’s success? “Each student has their two tutors who think they’re the coolest kids they’ll ever meet,” Becky notes. “They pick up on that.” 

At the end of the program, they hold a graduation ceremony for the students, complete with a cake made by The Greenbrier Resort with a special section for each student and affirmations from the tutors in front of their parents.

“Everyone applauds, and they even get balloons,” Becky says. “They understand graduating is important.” 

Student contracts

How do they achieve such a high level of buy-in from students? 

They ask for it. The students sign a contract, and they hold each other accountable to its terms. 

“They pledge, ‘I’ll try new things, I’ll read everyday, I’ll try my best, I’ll show kindness to others, be where I’m supposed to be without being reminded, do my best work, be eager, make new friends, show respect for myself and others, and more,” Debbie says. 

“Every now and then we pull it out and remind them they signed it,” she chuckles. “But that’s rare. We make it clear from day one that this program has to come first for them and their parents.”

“You can tell when they’ve had a bad day at school,” Becky adds. “The program is flexible enough you can switch, play a game, and then go back to reading. We all have to be committed for it to work, and it does.” 

‘All it really takes is someone who has patience and likes kids’

As you might guess, it takes a village of committed volunteers to make this one-on-one program with such promising results work. 

Currently, STAIR operates with 14 regular tutors and three substitutes. 

“All it really takes is someone who has patience and likes kids,” says Debbie. 

“It really draws from all walks of life,” noted Sally. 

“We have retired teachers, a secretary, a store manager, a teacher’s aide, a forestry retiree, an accountant, and more,” explains Becky. 

New tutors receive a training before beginning their work with students, and program leaders say their peers remain available to assist them throughout the program. 

WANTED: Tutors

But recently, STAIR has hit a roadblock. Despite their long history, promising results, and demand among parents for spots in the program, their volunteer base has slowly eroded. 

“We lost one volunteer who switched jobs, one who’s taking care of a relative, one who has health issues, and a few snowbirds who travel a lot,” Debbie explains. “We have three volunteers looking at surgeries this year.” 

So what kind of help do they need to ensure the program runs smoothly this year and beyond? “We need one full-time mentor (twice a week) and a few subs,” Debbie replies. 

“Subs might be called once a month,” Becky adds. “We love students, professionals, or retirees.” 

STAIR has moved its start date back to October 27 this year to allow more time to find another tutor. 

“If we can’t find someone, we’ll make it work,” Debbie says. But she’s not sure how, and she remains hopeful someone will step up to help. 

“A parent came up to me recently asking if her younger child could get into our STAIR program,” Sally says. “Her older son really struggled and came to our program. She told me he is now the reader of the family. If she can’t find him, hse knows he’s reading somewhere in the house.”

Interested tutors should call the office of Old Stone at 304-645-2676.