The national literacy program, America Reads Challenge is nearly 20 years old, and teachers and tutors alike are still marveling at the program's success. It has been 17 years since the UAH Education Department and Huntsville City Schools began the pilot project to improve literacy and reading skills among children in grades kindergarten through third grade. The education initiative was funded as a Federal Work Study (FWS) Program, and UAH students employed through FWS are hired to tutor children at selected schools and provide one-on-one reading and comprehension activities. Building on the success of the America Reads Challenge, Math Counts was initiated in 1999, to improve student achievement in math comprehension. "UAH has a long history of providing work study students the opportunity to participate in the America Reads Program (ARP). The America Reads Challenge is an initiative started in 1996 by the Clinton administration to support literacy education through tutors who give children the personal attention they need to catch up and get ahead," said Dr. Beth Nason Quick, Chair and Professor of Education. "UAH students have most recently served at Morris and Rolling Hills (elementary schools) in the Huntsville City School System. The program is a win-win for all involved. UAH students are paid for their tutoring services and a struggling child receives individualized assistance and support on a consistent basis from a university student," Quick added. "It is not uncommon for our UAH students to continue more than one semester or even more than one year. Strong relationships and bonds are formed as they work with one student across time.