Big books used to intimidate Makayla Link. So did big words and big paragraphs.

But that was in ninth grade when she was reading at the seventh-grade level. Today, as a senior, she has caught up — a feat she credits to Beyond Basics, a literacy program that on Monday got a big boost in funding.

General Motors has donated $1 million to the program, which provides intense tutoring to high school students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District.