Campus Connection

Reading Buddies program recognized for advancing literacy, teacher preparation

For a young reader, a little encouragement can make a big difference. For a future teacher, the opportunity to put classroom lessons into practice can be just as meaningful. 

The Reading Buddies program between UW-La Crosse’s School of Education (SOE) and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater La Crosse recently earned the club’s Program of the Year Award for helping local children build foundational literacy skills while helping prepare the next generation of educators. 

"We are honored to receive this award, as it reflects the dedication and collaborative efforts that have gone into developing a program that supports children's early literacy skills while strengthening our partnership with the community," says Yuko Iwai, professor of educational studies. Literacy instructors Denise Rueter and Caryn Peterson co-lead the Reading Buddies program.

Introduced in 2022, the partnership has grown into an established program serving approximately 60 to 90 children each semester at the Terry Erickson Club and Hamilton Club. Its success reflects a shared commitment to supporting young learners. 

“The transformation among our Boys & Girls Club members has been remarkable,” says Cassidy Murphy, La Crosse Area director of the club. “Early on, some kids heard 'reading' in the title and assumed it was just extra schoolwork. Today, the program is so popular that it has become almost competitive — kids actively want a UWL Buddy. Buy-in for literacy activities has skyrocketed, and even teachers will advocate for their students to join when the kids talk about the program during school.” 

During each six-week session, UWL pre-service teachers work one-on-one with children, assessing their literacy skills and developing individualized lessons. Instruction targets foundational skills such as phonics, spelling, reading comprehension, fluency, vocabulary and writing. Pre-service teachers incorporate multisensory approaches, monitor student progress and adjust lessons to meet individual needs.

The impact of that work is evident in students like senior early childhood education major Jenna Mashak, who participated in Reading Buddies last fall. She taught six literacy lessons to a kindergartener and continues to draw on the experience in her current kindergarten field placement. 

"One of the most important things I learned was how to tailor instruction to meet a student's individual needs," Mashak says. "Working one-on-one with a student allowed me to better understand their strengths, identify areas where they needed additional support, and learn how to best support their academic growth."

Mashak’s experience reflects a targeted emphasis on literacy instruction at UWL.

In 2024, the university awarded SOE a Curricular Redesign Grant that supported major revisions to its undergraduate literacy curriculum. Faculty updated coursework and practical learning opportunities to align with Wisconsin's Act 20 requirements for science-based literacy instruction, strengthening how future teachers learn to teach foundational reading skills. 

These improvements are part of SOE's broader commitment to high-quality literacy instruction — a commitment reflected in another recent achievement: UWL's literacy program receiving an A-plus rating from the National Council on Teacher Quality. 

“It is great to learn that our literacy program represents high-quality instruction to prepare our students,” Iwai and Rueter say. “We continue to collaborate with one another to evaluate our program and improve our courses.” 

Sustaining and growing the partnership with the Boys & Girls Club also requires ongoing support from the university. Support from the UWL Alumni & Friends Foundation School of Education General Fund provides instructional resources, including decodable books, literacy games and dry-erase boards, to make lessons engaging and effective. 

Additionally, a 2024 Gold Star Grant from the La Crosse Public Education Foundation provided books that were handed out to children at the Reading Buddies celebration and award ceremonies.

Looking ahead, Peterson and Rueter hope to continue making books part of the Reading Buddies experience by giving each child a personalized book from their UWL reading buddy at the end of the six-week program.

The gifts give children an opportunity to build their own home libraries, develop a sense of ownership and foster a lasting connection with reading — extending the impact of the program beyond the tutoring sessions.

For Mashak, that lasting impact goes both ways. The experience not only supported her young reading buddy but also helped shape the educator she is becoming. 

“Opportunities like Reading Buddies are invaluable because they allow future educators to work directly with real students before entering their Field Experiences and Student Teaching semesters,” Mashak says. “Being able to practice what we learn, build relationships with students, and develop our instructional skills in a real-world setting is truly priceless.” 

What comes next

After the Reading Buddies program, preservice teachers will take what they learned from their Literacy Methods I course into Literacy Methods II led by Rita Chen, Yuko Iwai and Jenny Ruetten, where they go to elementary schools to teach literacy strategies to small and large groups of students in the classroom. They also have an opportunity to tutor elementary school students at Eagle Bluff Elementary School, where literact instructor Rita Chen supervises. The Reading Buddies program prepares students to be successful in their field experience.