KENTWOOD, Mich. — Principal Jeff Overkleeft can't help but smile as children enter the media center at Southwood Elementary School during a day full of learning.
"Seeing the growth that our kids make at the end of the year, from kindergarten to fifth grade, and to see where they're at here, I just don't know another job where you see that. It's really inspiring and it makes me want to come to work every day," he said.
Southwood Elementary has seen growth amongst its students in reading and math since it became a partner school of Hope Network's Michigan Education Corps back in 2015.
"It provides high dosage academic intervention to students throughout the state of Michigan, in preschool through grade eight. We target reading and math skills, closing the achievement gap for kids who are behind in reading or math," said Holly Windram who serves as the executive director for the Michigan Education Corps.
Madi Wolff has been working at Southwood Elementary for the last three years as a reading interventionist.
"I will take a number of kids throughout the day. It'll be up to about 15 kids per day for 20 minutes each. I will pull them from their classrooms. They come in. We do their individualized modules and then I will send them back to their class and then I work on the next one. So it's just a process of doing these interventions, improving their reading and then testing them throughout the week," she said.
Madi believes she is making a difference and she calls her intervention work one of the most rewarding things she has ever done.
"I had a student in first grade during my first year of service. He was a little bit low, and he became super determined to get his reading level up. I actually tested him this year. And now that he's a third grader, his reading level is so much higher than where it needs to be. Seeing that it was something that he worked on just made me feel so good," she said.
Interventionists don't need any experience or training in the education field. They just need to be 18 or older and have a passion for helping children.
"We are going to prepare you. We'll equip you with everything you need - all of the resources. We will give you fantastic training, and we are going to coach you throughout the entire time that you're with us. We will never leave you hanging. You will have full support," Holly said.
The interventionist program offers paid part-time and full-time jobs. Interventionists also receive benefits and they can receive an education award which they can use to help pay for college credit or to pay off their student loans. That comes in handy for someone like Madi, who is also attending graduate school virtually through Ball State University.
"For those who are over 55, they can make a gift of this award to a foster child, stepchild, or grandchild," Holly said.
If you're interested in becoming an interventionist, you can apply at the Michigan Education Corps website.
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.