This research study's purpose or theme was to qualitatively investigate the reading component of a private after-school tutoring program that offered academic assistance to eighth-grade students. The problem with reading is many urban middle school students have poor reading skills and do not perform well on reading standardized tests. Relative to methodology, the student participants in the study were 30 eighth graders who attended a local, private, nonprofit tutoring facility in the researcher's state. The basic research design was the descriptive-interview research design. Three research questions were investigated through the collection and analysis of qualitative data from 15 content-valid interview questions. The researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with the six teachers (tutors) and one facility director. An interview session for each of the three interview questions lasted about 30 minutes. Thus, the total interview time for the six teachers and one facility director was approximately 210 minutes, or 3-1/2 hours. The total time to interview with all 15 interview questions was about 10 hours. Results showed educators perceived more practice generated greater reading success and improvement. In addition, it was reported that reading improvement occurred for every student whose attendance was consistent. Practice makes perfect, and students often benefit from teachers who insist that they work to their fullest potential. A major conclusion of the study involved the need for increased funding to institute more national afterschool tutoring programs that enhance reading skills. (Contains 1 table.)