Ordway Elementary has been picked as one of the sites to receive reading tutors from AmeriCorps.

Washington state recently received a grant to help young students who are struggling to read. The federal grant, totaling $1.86 million for three years coupled with funding from the state Legislature, will bring 150 Washington Reading Corps members into 53 Washington school districts and community-based organizations to provide tutoring in reading for 6,000 elementary-school students.

The grant was made possible by a $950,000 proviso passed by the state Legislature in 2014. The proviso provides support for the Washington Reading Corps.

“The Washington Reading Corps program is a proven winner,” said Randy Dorn, superintendent of public instruction. “The group tutoring that these grants will provide will give students the additional help they may need. And because reading is so necessary in our lives, making sure all students know how to read, and read well, is a high priority.”

The Reading Corps is part of the Washington Service Corps, which is administered by the state Employment Security Department using funding from the federal AmeriCorps program.

Districts were chosen based on the plan for member utilization and program design, family involvement, volunteer recruitment, the number of students receiving free and reduced-price lunches, as well as the number of migrant/bilingual students.

A total of 1,180 AmeriCorps members will be placed in Washington state in 2014.