For the second year in a row, two kindergarten teachers on the south side of Chicago have gotten 100% of their students to grade level reading skills using Reading In Motion. 

Allyson Stapleton and Anna Huber teach at Jesse Owens Elementary School at 124th and State Street.  With kindergarten classes of 25 or more students each, teaching their students to read is challenging.  95% of the students at Owens are low income, arriving at school with a wide range of experiences and skills.

What is the secret to these teachers’ success?  Both teachers say that daily use of Reading In Motion has made a big difference. "Reading In Motion is how I teach my kids to read,” said Huber.  “I am able to meet with small groups of students every day.

To view a WGN News segment about these two teachers, click here or on the VIDEO button above.

Reading In Motion received a $100,000 grant in the fifth annual Chicago Benefits program funded by Humana, Inc.  A finalist for this award in the previous two years, Reading  In Motion relied on persistence, a unique approach to learning and tangible results to secure the grant from Humana, one of the Chicago area’s largest providers of health insurance and related benefits.

“We are ecstatic to have been awarded the 2007 Chicago Benefits grant.  This $100,000 award will go a long way toward helping at-risk children learn to read,” said Karl Androes, executive director and co-founder of Reading In Motion.  “We started this program 24 years ago with the belief that children could learn basic reading skills through the arts.  Our program in now in 24 Chicago Public Schools, and with this generous grant from Humana, it will enable us to reach even more than the 2,500 students we helped this past year."

Click here to see a photo of Reading In Motion staff and Board members receiving the Humana grant check.