Layton grandma, 75, still reading to little tykes

Mary Preusz will never forget the first time she taught a child to read.

The Hispanic second-grader named Keith spoke very little English. But Preusz coached him through the difficult letters that formed words on pages.

"I taught him how to read, and I asked him, 'Do your parents help you read at home?' and he said, 'Well, when my dad isn't in prison,' " Preusz said.

When Keith started reading, he had more confidence, Preusz said. He carried himself better and he came into the room differently.

"Once you see somebody that hasn't been able to spend his time at home and you are able to give (time) to him, it's the most rewarding feeling you can have," Preusz said.

Preusz has been tutoring young Utah readers, many of them like Keith, for almost six years.

Four days a week the 75-year-old Layton resident can be found in a Layton Elementary School portable classroom helping students with their reading and, more importantly, their self-esteem.

"Each day we try to work with them on the words, and you can tell their progress . . . you can tell when their self-esteem boosts, or when their self-esteem improves, they read better," Preusz said. "Their reading flows, it's not a job."

Preusz belongs to a special group of grandparents in Davis County that helps young students tackle their academic troubles.

She visits with Layton Elementary students at least 20 hours a week as part of the Northern Utah Foster Grandparent Program.

"It really isn't a tiring job. It's not hard, it's just communicating," Preusz said.

The Foster Grandparent Program is a federal program that has local sponsorship from Weber Human Services in Ogden. Weber Human Services covers foster grandparents in counties from North Salt Lake to the Idaho border, with the exception of Rich County.

The Northern Utah program, which started with eight volunteers in 1997, has grown to include 77 grandparents covering six counties. Fourteen of those grandparents work in Davis County at 12 different schools.

Charity Moon, Northern Utah Foster Grandparent Program director, said the program is mostly for low-income seniors. In Davis County, the Davis County School District matches the federal money the program gets in order to sponsor the grandparents.

"They are looking to buy more foster grandparents," she said. "We have such a need down there."