By Anna Guido
Enquirer contributor

PRICE HILL - At Oyler School, every minute counts. That's how the staff and volunteer mentors approach learning.

"When our mentors come in, their time is very well spent. It's a very structured program," said coordinator Wanda Neville.

Oyler, a pre-K-8 school in Cincinnati Public Schools, has been nationally recognized twice for its mentoring program, called HOSTS (Help One Student to Succeed).

The Vancouver-based program, founded 30 years ago by teacher Bill Gibbons, is used by public school districts nationwide, including Cincinnati, Covington, Newport, Mount Healthy, Lakota, Winton Woods, Fairfield, Princeton, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place and Williamsburg.

With school back in session, these local public school districts are compiling their lists of volunteers to help children with reading and reading comprehension.

"If a child can be seen 30 minutes a day, four times a week, we see better results," Neville said.

Research by Central Michigan and Bowling Green State universities shows that children who have participated for at least six months in HOSTS and other similar mentoring programs gain an average of two grade levels in reading.

The "No Child Left Behind" Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 specifically cites HOSTS as a program that "impacted a critical mass of students, and assisted schools in significantly improving students' reading levels, raising student achievement and test results, and overall school performance."

In July, first lady Laura Bush's visit to Oyler was prompted in part by the success of Oyler's HOSTS program.

"We were a perfect match for her visit because the administration is big on mentoring," Oyler Principal Craig Hockenberry said.

Hockenberry said it costs about $10,000 a year to operate HOSTS. The amount includes an annual $6,000 licensing fee. Other costs are for new materials, supplies, snacks for mentors and other items.

Oyler has about 350 mentors - professionals, retirees, church members - who spend anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours a week with the school's second- and third-graders.

Clifton resident Sally Schreiber, a mother, grandmother and former elementary teacher, gives an hour a week to the Oyler program, which is in its ninth year.

"Sometimes, I don't get to read," Schreiber said. "I just sit there and listen to these children tell what their lives are like. They get to know you, confide in you."

Oyler third-grader Nicole Zarmbus, 10, improved her reading level by a full grade after working with HOSTS mentors in second grade.

"It helped me read more and write more, and I loved spending time with my mentors," she said.

HOSTS founder Gibbons, who was in Louisiana last week working with a school district eligible for "No Child Left Behind" federal funding, said he was not a successful student, but a teacher helped him in much the same way HOSTS mentors help students today.

To be a HOSTS mentor

 Minimum age limit: high school student.

 Maximum age: None as long as person has desire to help someone, enjoys young people and can follow directions.

 Be willing to participate in a program orientation (about two hours).

 Be willing to serve as a mentor for the entire school year.

 Information: (800) 833-4678, or visit www.hosts.com.E-mail annag376@aol.com