The new Ruth Rales Reading Tutorial Initiative (RRRTI) will help 840 Grade 2 students in 56 targeted schools with the highest poverty rates learn to read fluently. The program will be highlighted at a press conference on Wednesday, December 1, at 2:00 p.m. at Bel Pre Elementary School.

RRRTI is an expansion of Reading Together, a structured tutoring program used with great success in 30 schools last year. The expansion is made possible in part by a pledge of $270,000 over the next three years by Debby and Joshua Rales of the RFI Foundation.

On average, students in the program gain at least one grade level in reading fluency and comprehension by program completion. The program's success is due, in part, to the quality of books and materials provided and to the ongoing training the tutors receive.

RRRTI recently was named the Maryland winner of the Civic Star Award from the American Association of School Administrators and Sodexho School Services.

Collaborators in the initiative also include the Montgomery County Council and the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Three nonprofit organizations, Interages, Inc.; George B. Thomas, Sr., Learning Academies; and Passion for Learning, Inc., will recruit volunteers to serve as reading tutors for this program.