Early Literacy coach Melinda Leonard with Wee Read reads to Monica Wilhelm’s pre-k class at Global Learning Academy after books were donated by ECARE.

Montclair Elementary School is a long way from the Pensacola Bay Center.

It is light-years away from the spectacle that will consume the Pensacola landmark when Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump blows into town Wednesday.

There will be plenty of movers and shakers at the Trump event, and chances are they will be a lot of talk about how to make America great again.

But it’s the work going on at the 400-pupil school on Massachusetts Avenue on Pensacola’s westside that is worthy of some high-level attention.

Montclair is one of six sites where ECARE is working to improve the kindergarten readiness of students who are at risk of being among the 1 out of every 3 Escambia youngsters who are not ready for school when kindergarten starts.

ECARE (Every Child a Reader in Escambia) is a nonprofit that trains volunteers called Reading Pals to work with preschoolers whose language skills aren’t where they need to be.

On Wednesday morning, the Reading Pals and their youngsters were using games, puzzles, flashcards and books to learn about people who are helpers in the community, animals and practicing their writing skills too.

ECARE also works with the Escambia School District in Wee Read, a program that provides professional development for child care providers to give them the tools they need to be good teachers.

The nonprofit also sponsors Family Night events, which bring families together to help coach parents on how to make reading fun at home.

Montclair’s Assistant Principal Kristen Danley said the extra help ECARE volunteers provide students is crucial for her school, where in some years, as many as 20 kindergarteners are retained.

That’s an entire classroom of children who don’t advance on time to first grade.

Ashley Bodmer, executive director of ECARE, says the program’s goal is increase the number of children who are reading at proficiency based on their performance on voluntary prekindergarten assessment tests given at the beginning and end of each school year.

At the end of this school year, Bodmer will have data that compares ECARE to other Reading Pal programs across the state.

Last year, the majority of students with Reading Pals were ready based on their VPK assessments. On Jan. 15, ECARE will host its annual breakfast and report its most recent data and share the impact the program has on the students it aims to help.

Work that helps make Pensacola better – even greater — one child at a time.