Service Learning & Literacy: Jackson Community College

The Reading Coaching Project was implemented at Jackson Community College in order to address the low reading abilities of struggling students. Students who were identified by their reading instructors as needing additional one‐on-one support to manage the reading demands of the higher learning environment were referred to the literacy coordinator to be matched with a trained reading coach. In a previous reading coaching pilot program, students made significant progress after only six weeks of instruction and coaching. This pilot laid the ground work for implementing a college‐wide reading coaching program that utilized Jackson Community College staff, alumni, and retired faculty as well as community volunteers to coach struggling students and increase student success and retention. Jackson Community College is committed to the belief that low levels of literacy can severely hinder academic, economic, and social progress, which in turn can adversely affect the community as a whole. [author]