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Moms Rewrite Story for Struggling Readers
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Students, athletes and families come together to shine a spotlight on literacy at the Literacy Under the Lights event.
Moms Rewrite Story for Struggling Readers
What began as a shared worry around kitchen tables has quickly grown into one of the region’s most impactful education initiatives.
Western Star Literacy Center was not created by a large institution. It was built by mothers who watched their own children struggle with reading, searched for help and realized what some families needed simply did not exist close to home.
“We knew there was a growing need in the community for personalized and in-person tutoring and literacy support for struggling readers,” said Executive Director Megan Aafedt.
Families were encountering long waitlists for in-person tutoring or being told virtual instruction was their only option. Rather than accept those limitations, the founders decided to build something new.
In October 2024, Western Star Literacy Center began offering tutoring sessions, starting modestly with a handful of tutors and one carefully chosen instructional program. Today, just over a year later, the organization serves more than 80 active students with the help of 16 trained tutors and continues to grow to meet demand.
Face-to-face help for readers
From the beginning, the founders were intentional about how tutoring would be delivered. While virtual instruction can be effective, they believed strongly in the value of in-person connection.
“Virtual tutoring is amazing, but there’s something about that face-to-face tutoring,” said Tara Peterson, program director.
Local schools do offer important literacy supports and intervention programs, but not every child qualifies for those services.
“We’re kind of catching the students in the middle who might otherwise slip through the cracks,” Aafedt said.
Western Star uses the Barton Reading & Spelling System, a research-based approach often recommended for students with dyslexia, along with additional evidence-based programs to meet individual learning needs.
The center primarily focuses on first- and second-grade students, though learners range from kindergarten through middle school.
Built by moms, powered by community
Western Star’s growth has been fueled largely by word of mouth among parents, teachers and school administrators. The organization now partners with Williston Basin School District and Trinity Christian School, providing tutoring both during the school day and after hours.
Tutoring sessions take place in schools and at Western Star’s center at 717 E. Broadway, a donated space that currently includes five tutoring rooms and is already being expanded
to meet growing demand.
Much of that growth, Aafedt said, is due to strong leadership and community relationships.
“Abbie Axtman, one of our cofounders, was very vital in starting this all up, because she knows so many people and is so knowledgeable about literacy,” Aafedt said.
The tutors themselves reflect the center’s grassroots mission. Many are mothers returning to the workforce, educators or professionals with backgrounds in education and related fields. Flexible schedules allow them to balance family life while making a meaningful impact.
Boosting literacy on a family budget
From the outset, the founders were determined cost would never prevent a child from receiving help. Support from community partners, including funding from MWEC’s Operation
Round Up program, has made that commitment possible.
“Private one-on-one literacy tutoring can be quite expensive, and we wanted to make sure no child is turned away for financial reasons,” Aafedt said.
To meet that goal, Western Star created an All Students Fund that allows the organization to offer scholarships, free or reduced tutoring, and keep session costs affordable for private-pay families, while still paying tutors a competitive wage.
The approach is working. Last summer alone, more than 60 students participated in tutoring sessions, many supported through grants and community donations.
"It's a beautiful thing to see a child's confidence grow and their love of reading emerge."
Confidence changes everything
Ask the founders or tutors what success looks like, and they won’t start with test scores, although those are rising, sometimes dramatically. They talk about confidence.
“It’s a beautiful thing to see a child’s confidence grow and their love of reading emerge,” Peterson said.
She recalls working with a first grader who struggled with reading for months. One evening, his mother sent a message that still gives her goosebumps.
“The mother shared that her son read them a bedtime story for the first time in his life,” Peterson said. “That’s the moment. That’s why we do this.”
The changes are noticeable at school, too, with some students making jumps of 80 points or more between assessments.
Keeping help on the horizon
With an active waitlist and plans to expand tutoring capacity, Western Star Literacy Center shows no signs of slowing down. Community events such as Literacy Under the Lights, where young readers share books with high school athletes, help build excitement around reading and reinforce literacy as a shared responsibility.
Strong partnerships remain central to that work.
“We have an amazing board. We could not do this without them,” Aafedt said. “Our relationship with the schools has been incredibly positive, and our community has been so amazing in supporting us.”
At its core, Western Star remains what it has always been: a solution built by moms who refused to wait for someone else to fix the problem.
“We were brave enough to dive in and make it happen,” Aafedt said.
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