First you learn to read and then you read to learn. Volunteers for Elementary School Literacy (VESL) places volunteers – trained to provide personalized instruction to students who require an additional focus on reading – in two elementary schools serving Woodbury: Brookview and Lake Elmo.

As the new school year begins, volunteers are needed to expand the program to additional first through third grade classrooms.  For those who volunteer with the program (an hour or two a week), it’s an impactful way of contributing to a goal of all students reading by grade level by third grade.

George Hoeppner has paid attention to the alarms about poor reading scores. “Since I had the time to volunteer, the VESL program was an easy choice…it is especially important for young boys to see males who read, whether that is their fathers, a male teacher, or a male volunteer,” Hoeppner said. Seeing the boys become more confident as they read stood out for him. “The activities we did together helped them take chances on vocabulary and complex sentences,” he added.

Woodbury resident Barbara Pletcher is a retired teacher who volunteers with Brookview first graders.  She noted that specific lesson plans, games, and 1:1 activities are prepared in advance by teachers, so she can focus her time on being with students.  “It’s fun to go back into the classroom—the kids are so refreshing,” Pletcher shared. “Being able to reinforce both early literacy skills, help develop confidence in kids who are behind, and spark an interest in reading makes this a great volunteer opportunity,” she added.

VESL is sponsored by the Stillwater Sunrise Rotary and is open to volunteers of all ages and time commitments, with most dedicating one hour a week. Interested volunteers can contact David Waldschmidt at [email protected] to learn more.