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And on a recent Tuesday morning, the Tulsa World鈥檚 City Hall reporter was asking one: 鈥淒o you know what the word 鈥榤ound鈥� means?鈥� he said.

No response.

Again, Kevin asks, persistently but gently: 鈥淒o you know what a mound is?鈥�

This time, Amantae responds, and soon, the Marshall Elementary third-grader learns the meaning of mound as Kevin coaches him through a 40-minute reading lesson.

Kevin and Amantae work together every week in a terrific program. You may have heard of聽Reading Partners聽because it鈥檚 been in Tulsa Public Schools since the 2013-14 school year. But if you don鈥檛 know much about it, I hope you鈥檒l read on. Because they need volunteers and 鈥� as you鈥檒l see 鈥� a one-hour per week commitment can help make a lifelong difference for young students.

Filling a need:聽Did you know the vast majority of聽Tulsa聽Public Schools students are not reading proficiently by third grade, according to state tests?

鈥淭o me, we鈥檙e really in the middle of a crisis in Tulsa,鈥� Reading Partners Executive Director Justin Harlan told me last week. He wondered what affect that reading deficiency could have on our city in 10 years.

There are myriad reasons students are struggling. Those can range from swollen class sizes to economic disadvantages. Reading Partners reports that 83 percent of its students in Tulsa Public Schools are 鈥渆conomically disadvantaged.鈥�

Reading Partners is a nonprofit national program 鈥� part of聽聽鈥� that receives two-thirds of its funding through private donations, Harlan said. The remainder of the money comes from the federal government and local schools that sign up.

Last year in Tulsa, more than 1,500 students participated, and nearly 90 percent of them met literacy growth goals, according to a聽.

The program has grown quickly. In its first year in Tulsa Public Schools, Reading Partners had 449 students.聽聽There are 27 reading centers in elementary schools across the city.

Volunteers needed:聽There are many more students who can use the help, but the program doesn鈥檛 have enough volunteers. About 2,000 will be needed this year, Harlan said.

There are two main obstacles in volunteer recruitment, he said. One is the time commitment. It鈥檚 about an hour a week, and Harlan admits that it sometimes is hectic when it鈥檚 time to go tutor.

It never feels like a waste of time鈥� I feel like I鈥檝e made a difference.

Kevin is in his fourth year volunteering in the program that includes students from kindergarten to third grade.

鈥淚 just get a lot out of it because I know how important it is to be able to read and write,鈥� he said. (By the way, on the day I met Kevin at Marshall Elementary, Tulsa World reporter聽聽also was there tutoring a first-grader. Andrea is in her fourth year volunteering.)

The second obstacle Harlan mentioned was the uncertainty potential volunteers may have about teaching young kids how to read. Reading Partners is aware of that and has easy-to-follow lesson plans that take volunteers step by step through about 40 minutes of tutoring.

鈥淚t tells you when to say something and when to do something,鈥� Harlan said. 鈥淚t really makes it pretty easy on the volunteers.鈥�

The program works, and even if the lesson doesn鈥檛 go exactly as planned, there are benefits beyond the reading.

I think the biggest part is having one-on-one time with a caring adult

Said Lyssa Flanagan, a regional site coordinator who was at Marshall on a recent morning.

Hailee Jefferys is a site coordinator at Kendall-Whittier, where I volunteer. She鈥檚 noticed students鈥� progress, but she sees something else students receive.

鈥淐onfidence, more than anything,鈥� she said.

On the day she told me this, a second-grader excitedly came to her desk. His lesson had a longer book than he expected. He reluctantly proceeded and was thrilled to share that he completed all 361 words in the book.

Kevin has seen the same thing, but he will tell you it鈥檚 not always easy. Growth rarely is, and students (just like adults) have bad days, too.

鈥淪ometimes, it鈥檚 challenging,鈥� he said. 鈥淭eachers know what I鈥檓 saying.鈥�

But with those challenges are rewards. In a Reading Partners survey from last school year, 95 percent of volunteers said they were satisfied with the experience.

Why does Kevin keep聽volunteering? He first talked about the fundamental importance of reading. Someone taught him that, and he wants to share it.

Then he mentioned something else 鈥� something all volunteers have the chance to experience.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want this to sound clich茅. I think most people in Reading Partners would tell you they get more out of it than the kid. Reading Partners may not want to hear that,鈥� Kevin said, almost guiltily. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 a fun, rewarding experience. 鈥�

It鈥檚 the kids who are responsible for the joy you get out of it.