Hitting the books may be more of a challenge next year for some students if budget cuts for Rochester Memorial School go as planned.

One of two reading specialists is on the chopping block in the School Committee's current $5.6 million budget draft.

That leaves reading specialists Holly Ashley and Lisa McIlmail concerned not only for the position that may be lost, but the effect it will have on children struggling to read.

“We work with students, intervening with them when a need has been identified, working with those students one on one or in a small group,” said Ashley.

She and McIlmail work on the specific reading skills that individual children find challenging and that classroom teachers may not have time to hone in on.

Having two reading specialists for the school gives them the opportunity to work with specific kids, often for an intense period of time to bring their reading skills up to their grade level.

“We’ve worked with students really intensely in the first grade, and as they’ve advanced to the second grade, they’ve now become just regular members. They don’t need that intervention piece anymore,” said McIlmail.

Ashley said the one on one and small group sessions with first and second grade students are paramount. Not addressing reading issues early can mean nine times the amount of instruction in the future to catch up, she said.

“We not only work on reading skills, we work on their writing skills because the two go hand in and, and it really is amazing to see that transformation,” said Ashley. “But it only happens because we’re giving them that direct instruction.”

Besides taking children with reading delays out of class, the specialists also work with teachers and students in the classroom.

McIlmail focuses on grades 4, 5 and 6, helping children revise their writing in class and working on reading proficiency.

Both specialists say their schedules are already full meeting with students and, if the budget cuts go through, services to students will suffer.

And, said McIlmail, the results of their work are obvious. Not only does reading improve, but children gain self-assurance and participate more in class.

“There are kids that come to us with absolutely no confidence in themselves, and when they leave they are confident,” she said. “Reading is fundamental. You need reading for everything.”

School Committee Vice Chair Tina Rood said cuts are "all based on the needs of the students" and that reading services would be provided in a different way if the proposed budget is approved as is.

In addition to the reading specialist, one teacher position is being removed due to a dip in enrollment, said Rood.

Rood added that nothing is solidified yet, and the public still has a month to contribute to the budget discussion before the committee votes on it.