America Reads Draws Campus Crowds

President Clinton's America Reads initiative made its presence felt at Harvard yesterday as dozens of students attended an open house for the program which will pay federal-work study students to tutor children in reading.

The federal program, started last winter, and two public-service groups--House and Neighborhood Development (HAND) and the Harvard Emerging Literacy Project (HELP)--got involved with America Reads.

Yesterday's open house marked the first organized presentation of all America Reads projects on campus.

Students eligible for work-study can choose from four programs. HAND pairs each undergraduate house with a local elementary school, and HELP--which is a division of Harvard-Radcliffe Little People--works with pre-schoolers.

The initiative includes seven current groups administered under (PBHA): Newtowne Court After School Program, Mission Hill After School Program, Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment Program, Dearborn After School Program, Fresh Pond Enrichment Program, Keylatch After School Program and Chinatown After School Program.

America Reads will also fund work-study students who participate in a new partnership between the College and the Graduate School of Education.

When Congress allocated federal work-study funds this year, Harvard's share--about $3 million, according to Marcy Homer, director of Student Employment--increased by about 10 percent. About 5 percent of the increase, the first in 13 years, was earmarked for public service.

Homer told a group of students assembled for the open house that the funding jump means that Harvard can afford to pay a full work-study hourly wage to any student who wants to participate in one of the America Reads programs on campus.

The work-study component comes with strict rules on such issues as the number of hours students must spend with the children. In some programs such as the Fresh Pond Enrichment Program, only certain activities count for work-study. Students who teach art, music or any subject except reading would not be eligible for money.

Undergraduates on work-study receive $7.50 per hour for America Reads tutoring, while graduate students get $11.00. Homer said students who display a significant level of commitment to the program may get small raises.

Other federal work-study funds that Harvard receives have supported students performing public service work for years. The Stride Rite program funds student public service projects by providing a combination of work-study wages, book purchase grants and student loan grants.

But America Reads, and the significant federal funds it brings to Harvard, appears to be a common thread running through several unrelated public service groups which at times exhibit an acrimonious relationship.

Student public service leaders say the work-study funding may help to attract students who otherwise could not afford to volunteer.

"It will definitely allow some people to do public service who couldn't before," said Nathalie F. Goodkin '99, co-chair of HAND.

But some volunteers said they're uncertain the initiative will help Harvard's public service programs gain students who are truly passionate about teaching kids to read.

"We want to attract people who are really interested," said Vi T. Nguyen '98, who runs the Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment program. "We're de-emphasizing the money."

But Nguyen stressed that tutoring is more socially valuable than working in a library or at another similar work-study job.

"Even though they're getting paid, it's still volunteering," she said, thumbing through a photo album which showed grinning Vietamese refugee children playing with Harvard students. "America Reads is great because it gives students more support.

Undergraduates on work-study receive $7.50 per hour for America Reads tutoring, while graduate students get $11.00. Homer said students who display a significant level of commitment to the program may get small raises.

Other federal work-study funds that Harvard receives have supported students performing public service work for years. The Stride Rite program funds student public service projects by providing a combination of work-study wages, book purchase grants and student loan grants.

But America Reads, and the significant federal funds it brings to Harvard, appears to be a common thread running through several unrelated public service groups which at times exhibit an acrimonious relationship.

Student public service leaders say the work-study funding may help to attract students who otherwise could not afford to volunteer.

"It will definitely allow some people to do public service who couldn't before," said Nathalie F. Goodkin '99, co-chair of HAND.

But some volunteers said they're uncertain the initiative will help Harvard's public service programs gain students who are truly passionate about teaching kids to read.

"We want to attract people who are really interested," said Vi T. Nguyen '98, who runs the Boston Refugee Youth Enrichment program. "We're de-emphasizing the money."

But Nguyen stressed that tutoring is more socially valuable than working in a library or at another similar work-study job.

"Even though they're getting paid, it's still volunteering," she said, thumbing through a photo album which showed grinning Vietamese refugee children playing with Harvard students. "America Reads is great because it gives students more support.