^VIDEO A retired Worthington school counselor isn't very retired these days as she sets a goal to find 1,000 mentors to teach struggling readers.

Kathy Moore, who retired from Worthington schools in 2008 after 29 years as a guidance counselor, hopes Project MORE will become a familiar phrase in Worthington households.

"This program is amazing because it's meeting the reading needs of struggling second-, third- and fourth-graders so effectively," Moore said. "These are children whose reading needs are not being met in the regular classroom.

"For these children, Project MORE is a godsend."

The MORE in the program name stands for "Mentoring in Ohio for Reading Excellence." The program currently is being implemented in 160 schools across Ohio, including eight Worthington elementary schools.

Moore said the program works because it has "EARS."

"It's effective, it's affordable, it's replicable and it's sustainable," she said. "It works because of the highly effective teaching model, which is one-on-one instruction by a trained volunteer mentor, four sessions per week, 30 minutes per session for 32 weeks, using a prescribed, individualized lesson plan.


"The other magic bullet is that the session content is tailored to meet the individualized reading needs of the child," she said. "The lesson plan is prepared by the building reading specialist and is taught by the trained volunteer mentor."

Moore said training to become a reading mentor takes only about an hour before that mentor can begin working with a Project MORE student.

Mentors also do not have to be available for each of the four sessions a week the child is mentored.

"The consistency of the program's instructional model makes it possible for a child to work with a different mentor every day and still make impressive progress," she said.

Moore said the volunteer commitment could fit reasonably into many household schedules and the more mentors who are on board, the better the program will work.

"Many hands make light work," she said. "Worthington schools wants to sustain this program because we're finally meeting the needs of children who had been falling through the cracks prior to the implementation of this intervention. The reading improvement of Project MORE students is impressive."

Jennifer Wene, district Project MORE supervisor, asked Moore to take on the task of recruitment and develop a recruitment plan for the program.

"Jennifer knows I have a passion for projects that really make a positive difference in the lives of children," she said.

Moore has met with several groups, including Leadership Worthington, Partners for Citizenship and Character, Leadership Tomorrow, many PTOs, Worthington Kilbourne and Thomas Worthington high school students, bus drivers, the Care After School staff, Worthington Educational Foundation and the Circle of Grandparents.

The result was more than 200 new mentors -- but more are needed.

"Worthington is a community that values its children and prioritizes education," she said. "If anyone is interested in volunteering, I would love for them to contact me."

Those who are interested may e-mail Moore at kathymoore123@gmail.com or call her at 614-206-6204.