ROW on NBC Montana
Missoula nonprofit seeks volunteers for reading program
By Bowen West · Monday, November 25th 2024
MISSOULA, Mont. — As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, and some elementary schools are doing that in Missoula. That's where Reading Opens Your World, also known as ROW, comes in.
"It's very hard for teachers to spend individual attention, especially a solid 30 minutes with each student."
— Lauren Markovich, Founder and Executive Director
The nonprofit pairs community volunteers with younger students. The idea is to foster a love of reading as early as possible.
344
Students Helped
1,641
Books Gifted
~110
Volunteers
It started in 2022. Since then, it's helped 344 students, gifted 1,641 books to kids and has about 110 volunteers in three schools. But the need is growing.
"The goal is to take on one additional elementary school each year but in order to expand we need volunteers to do that."
— Lauren Markovich
According to data from the Montana Office of Public Instruction, only 32% of elementary students in Missoula County are proficient in reading, with another 27% classified as advanced readers.
Markovich wants to see all students improve and open a book as soon as possible.
"It's really just the time where the volunteer and student pair can make a connection. It will hopefully motivate the child to want to read outside of school."
— Lauren Markovich