America Reads and America Counts Program

These are two Federal programs enacted through the Federal Work-Study Office here at Oklahoma State University, which use college students as mathematics and reading tutors in area elementary schools. The Federal Work-Study Program began in 1964, and it provides undergraduate and graduate students with part-time employment to help meet their financial needs by giving them work experience while serving their campuses and surrounding communities.

The America Reads program was initiated in 1997, as a challenge by President Clinton to insure the literacy of every child by the time they reach the third grade. The US Department of Education issued a regulation encouraging public schools and non-profit agencies to employ Federal Work-Study students serving as reading tutors by waiving the requirement that employers pay part of their wages. Therefore, while those agencies that employ Work-Study students outside of this program are responsible for 30 percent of the wages those students earn, America Reads tutors are funded through a waiver that pays 100 percent of their wages.

The Clinton-Gore Administration has recently expanded the Federal Work-Study Waiver to include mathematics tutoring. Effective July 1, 1999, the federal government began paying 100 percent of the wages of Work-Study students who serve as mathematics tutors to students from kindergarten through ninth grade. This Work-Study waiver enables college students who have an affinity for mathematics and science to gain valuable work experience as tutors while taking an active role in improving student achievement in mathematics.

The Office of Federal Work-Study at Oklahoma State University has the goal of doubling its current student enrollment in the America Reads and America Counts programs. An integral part of this goal is broadening the area of service these tutors will be working in to include cities and towns outside of Stillwater. In order to ensure student interest in tutoring tutors will receive a wage of $7.50 per hour as well as compensation for travel outside of Stillwater.

If you are a student that has accepted a Federal Work-Study award for the next academic year, and are interested in becoming an America Reads or America Counts tutor, please contact the Work-Study office at: (405) 744-7056 or (405) 744-6650 and schedule an appointment.

If you are a representative of a public school and wish to have an America Reads or Counts program at your school, please contact our office to set up a contract or find out more.