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Elementary school offers scholarships
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There are many opportunities out there to help students who are failing in school and to those who are excelling in school, but those students who are right in the middle seem to have been lost between the two extremes.
With that reasoning in mind, the Cunningham Elementary School Parent Teacher Association awarded two scholarships Monday for students to use toward a pilot reading program headed by California State University, Stanislaus.
“The scholarships will help those students who are not in resource and who are not up to speed in school, but those who have fallen in the gap,” said Sean McKeon, Cunningham PTA president.
Scholarships were given to Adran Romo and Adria Ruedas, both fourth-graders at the school.
The two students will be going through an intensive three-month program where they will be meeting twice a week to work on their reading, McKeon said.
The program is offered by the Center for Direct Instruction through the CSU Stanislaus departments of psychology and advanced studies in education. The program is used to help “new readers get started, and help students who are experiencing difficulty ‘catching up.’”
Students will experience group instruction and independent work in a class size from two to six students. The program costs about $300, which includes all the tests and class materials.
“My child went through this program for two years in a row and he excelled three grade levels,” McKeon said.
Cunningham is using the pilot program for the first time this year and they are hoping to continue the program in the future. They are hoping to have more students receive scholarships as the years progress.  
To contact Maegan Martens, e-mail mmartens@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2015.