AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT OF THE UPSTATE INC

Augustine Literacy Project of the Upstate was started as a replication in 2006. Since then, ALP has trained over 165 tutors who have provided over 12,000 hours of specialized, individualized reading tutoring in the Upstate of South Carolina.

We provide at least 2 no-cost, 45-minute, one-on-one lessons weekly to qualifying students at their school or afterschool program. The lessons are individualized, structured, and multi-sensory. This instruction allows our students to process reading in a strategic way, through more than simply looking at words and pictures on a page. In every lesson the student learns to see, hear, touch, say, read, and write letters, words, and sentences.

Pre- and Post-Testing show that the ALP consistently produces positive results. On average, students improve across all measures, including phonological awareness, decoding, encoding, and comprehension.

Our students build reading, writing, and spelling competence, along with a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence, by succeeding where they previously struggled. Also, ALP students benefit from a consistent role model with the twice-weekly, one-on-one attention and interaction with our supportive, caring Augustine tutors. In 2021-2022 more than 1,200 lessons were provided by 38 tutors working with 46 students, and 20 new tutors were trained in 2022.