SUQUAMISH — Now that a new reading program is up and running at Suquamish Elementary, one large question remains: who benefits more, the students being tutored, or the tutors themselves?

That’s the unique aspect of the program, its organizers say. The program pays tuition funds to high-school students in exchange for their tutoring and reading with fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.

“The notion was to create a tutoring program that brings high school students in to read,” said Anne Donovan, a volunteer at Suquamish Elementary that applied for — and received — the $56,000 grant that will fund the program for the next two years.

Donovan got the idea from encountering a similar program, called Teen Read, in the Seattle School District.

“I thought, ‘This is a great idea; but where are we going to get the money?’” Donovan said.

The answer: The Discuren Foundation, which is based in Seattle and distributes funds to schools and youth activities. Suquamish principal Joe Davalos had encountered the foundation before, and after a few applications, Suquamish received the funds (which are provided through the Kitsap Community Foundation, a technicality that must occur for the district to receive the money).

All year, seven students from North Kitsap High School, the PAL program, Kingston Junior High, and even Olympic College have spent three hours a week working with three elementary students.

Teacher Lisa Heaman, who is the program manager and teaches a sixth-grade class, said the results have been so impressive that students in her class who aren’t being tutored now want to be.

“All my other students are jealous. They want to read with a high schooler too,” Heaman said. “They just think they’re cool and want to hang out with them.”

The tutors have helped the cause, Heaman said, by spending extra time with the students, and even playing with them at recess: “They didn’t have to do that,” she said.

While the play is fun, Heaman said, the goal of the program is serious. The goal is to increase the reading levels and confidence of the students involved.

So far, Heaman said, that’s happened, too.

“I’m happy my students get an opportunity to have someone else to read with,” she said. “They trust (the tutors) and know they’ll be there for them.”

The tutors receive $7.50 an hour for the three hours per week they spend tutoring. The money is paid out not in cash, but in tuition for future college studies; students must provide college registration information before receiving the funds.

A student can earn more than $800 per year towards tuition by doing a year’s worth of tutoring, Donovan said.

North Kitsap High School student Risa DiCicco was guided into the program by work-based learning advisor Denise Comeau; all tutors undergo an application program initiated by the work-based learning program.

“I really enjoy it,” said DiCicco. “I like all my kids. I enjoy making a difference and helping kids read.”

DiCicco and the six other tutors are just the beginning, Donovan said. While the grant money decreases next year, she hopes donations, made to the district’s educational fund, will help the program thrive — and even spread to more schools.

“We don’t want this to be at just Suquamish for just two years,” she said. “We want it to be forever.”