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[GEORGIA] Samples of America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study Programs and National Service Initiatives
CLEARWATER CHRISTIAN COLLEGE
President George D. Youstra
America Reads Contact: Ms. Ruth Strum
3400 Gulf-to-Bay Blvd.
Clearwater, Florida 33759
Email: ruthstrum@clearwater.edu
Telephone: (813)726-1153, ext.214 Fax:
(813)726-8597
Number of FWS Students: 11 Number of Districts: Pinellas
Clearwater Christian is involved with St. Pete Junior College in the America Reads program for Pinellas County Schools. Orientation and training is alternated between both campuses with master teachers from the county school system as the trainers. Students are paired with an elementary school according to their college class schedule. They are working in pre-K, Kindergarten and grades 1-3 levels during the regular school day. The students have been very well received by the students, as well as the classroom teacher. Our students have found this program to be very fulfilling to them personally and educationally.
EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY
President George H. Ebbs , Jr.
America Reads Contact: Kathryn Parsons/Student Employment
600 South Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, Florida
Email: parsonsk@cts.db.erau.edu
Website: http://www.db.erau.edu
Telephone: (904) 226-6322 Fax: (904) 226-6307
Number of Students: 23
When the America Reads Challenge was first issued, I was a bit skeptical since Embry-Riddle University does not offer a teaching degree. Although, I felt it was something very special that we as a university could offer the community. My first step was to recruit Patricia Ryan from our Teachers Resource Center. The TRC is a campus entity geared to promote interest in aviation/aerospace at the elementary, middle and high school level. With the two of us working together, to our surprise, the tutor program has become one of the most popular among our Work-Study Students. Our recruiting efforts are minimal compared to the response we receive. Within the information letter we send to all of our FWS students, a statement is incorporated regarding the ARC. In addition to the letter, we post a notice on our job board and website. This Fall we included the Wishbone poster which drew even more attention. Our biggest boost in advertising this year was last years tutors. That is all it took!
Since we do not provide transportation for our students, we have selected two elementary schools within a few miles of the University. Both schools are in low income areas and were in dire need of our assistance. As for training our tutors, we first gathered as much information as possible from the Department of Education and the America Reads Website. We photocopy training manuals for each tutor and offer two training sessions. The first session is held by our Teachers Resource Center Director and the second one with the Elementary School Coordinators. Our tutors are split between a day program, working directly with teachers and one on one with students, and the after school program working with groups of children. Our main focus is first through fourth grade levels. A unique aspect of our program is the incorporation of reading with a day trip to Embry-Riddle's TRC. With the use of a computer generated program, students take part as pilots, air traffic controllers, meteorologists, etc. They each have scripts to read and must work as a team to get the plane off the ground, into the air and then land the aircraft. Another project to make reading fun is the building of kites. This is done by reading and following directions. After evaluations were received last year from both the schools and the tutors, we have found this program to be very rewarding and a win-win opportunity for all involved.
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
President Talbot "Sandy" D'Alemberte
America Reads Contact: Irma Jamison
930 West Park Avenue
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4180
Email: ijamison@admin.fsu.edu
Internet Address: www.fsu.edu/~service/americareads.html
Telephone: 850-644-9567
Fax: 850-644-3362
Number of Students: 20-30
Tutors are recruited from service-learning, co-curricular, Service Scholars, and college work study students. Each tutor receives three hours of pre-service training in the Road to Reading Program, developed by Drs. Pat Mathes, Jill Howard, and Joe Torgesen of the College of Education. Tutors are assigned to 5 elementary schools based on their schedules and transportation needs. They generally work with first through third graders, but also may assist with fourth and fifth graders. Tutors help students one-on-one in a supervised setting. Van transportation is provided to three of the schools.
Reading Specialists are assigned to each school to provide on-site technical assistance to the tutors and teachers. Team Leaders at each school assist with placement, attendance, and reflection. In addition to the school-based programs. Social Work students implement the FSU Reads Program at Springfield Boys and Girls Club and G.A.M.E.S., a pre-school program! housed in a public housing complex.
HILLSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
President Gwendolyn Stephenson
America Reads Contact: Emily Schmidt
Post Office Box 30030
Tampa, Florida
Email:
eschmidt@hcc.cc.fl.us
URL: www.hcc.cc.fl.us
Telephone: (813) 253-7235 Fax: (813) 253-7205
Number of Students: 60 Number of Districts: Hillsborough County
Hillsborough Community College is pleased to have developed a partnership with Hillsborough Reads. Hillsborough Reads is an early intervention reading program initiated and sponsored by Communities in Schools of Hillsborough, a special project of the Hillsborough Education Foundation. This collaborative effort is fortunate to also have the sponsorship of the Corporation for National Service (CNS) through The Florida Commission on Community Service (FCCS). This CNS/FCCS sponsorship provides 18 full-time AmeriCorps members, 13 Foster Grandparents and 5 AmeriCorps VISTAs to assist with tutoring and with the coordination of federal work study (FWS) students and community volunteers. Other key partners include the School District of Hillsborough County, School Enrichment Resource Volunteers in Education (SERVE), and Seniors In Service. Our title corporate sponsors are Coca Cola and Little Caesars.
Tutoring takes place during the school day in one-to-one tutoring sessions with the FWS student/volunteer and the primary grade child. All FWS students and volunteers attend the "Building Better Readers" literacy tutor training developed by Hillsborough Reads program director, Deborah Gist-Evans, in consultation with classroom teachers, the school district language arts team, and Dr. Susan Homan from the University of South Florida. We are willing to share this training and other materials which we have developed over the past two years.
KEISER CAREER INSTITUTE
President Arthur Keiser
America Reads Contact: Colleen Rupp/ Seeta Singh
1926 10th Avenue N. 1st Fl.
Lake Worth, FL 33461
Email:
colleenr@keisercollege.cc.fl.us
URL:
Telephone: (561) 547-5472 Fax: (561) 547-6609
Number of Students: 1
Keiser Career Institute would like to provide an after school tutor at a near by elementary school. This is to help and support the young children in our community. By having one of our student volunteer his/her service to the Greenacres Elementary School. His or her service will be funded by FWS Program.
MIAMI-DADE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
President Eduardo Padron
America Reads Contact: Josh Young
300 NE 2nd Ave
Miami, FL
Email: jyoung@mdcc.edu
Telephone: 305-237-7477 Fax: 305-237-7580
Number of Students: 200
Miami- Dade Community College, with collaborative efforts of our Financial Aid, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Florida International University, University of Miami, and Barry University, supports the America Reads Initative by providing 37 elementary schools and 6 afterschool sites with over 200 tutors.
Tutoring: Our tutors attend a 4-hour training with a reading specialist from Miami-Dade County Public Schools. These trainings are followed-up with in-service trainings/reflection sessions every six weeks. Tutors are asked to complete bi-weekly reports, which are designed to assess the progress of each tutor and the children they help.
Resources: Our tutor manual and training video are available for purchase. In addition to the tutor model, we also have a Buddy Reading program, and an America Reads at Home model that have been very successful. Contact Joshua Young for further information on how to obtain these materials.
Research: At the end of each year we administer an evaluation to reading coordinators, first grade teachers, and tutors. This had been very successful in helping us evaluate the progress of our program.
NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
President Ray Ferrero, Jr.
America Reads Contact: Hunter Peak
3301 College Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Email: peakh@nsu.nova.edu
Internet Address: http://www.polaris.nova.edu/EDU/admin_amreads.html
Telephone: (954) 262-7457
Fax: (954) 262-3967
Number of Students: 170
Nova Southeastern University's America Reads Program involves preparing student tutors to assist elementary children in Broward County. The Department of Education has nationally recognized our program as a "model of community teamwork". We currently have 170 tutors placed in 28 Broward county schools. We are currently developing a community partnership with HANDY Inc., (Helping, Abused, Needy, Dependent, Youth).
The strength of our program comes from the training we provide to our tutors. We require each tutor to complete a 6-hour workshop with Dr. Patrick McCabe, our faculty reading specialist here at Nova. Another important part of the program is out tutor supervisors. We maintain a ratio of 15 tutors per tutor supervisor. These supervisors are selected from the tutor population and paid with institutional funds. Nova Southeastern University has the opportunity to expand the America Reads program throughout Broward County due to the strong campus commitment.
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
President John Lombardi
America Reads Contact: Jennifer Tragash
P.O Box 117041
Gainesville, Florida 32611-7041
Email:
jrt@coe.ufl.edu
Telephone: 352-392-0701 ext. 244 Fax: 352-392-7159
Number of FWS Students: 50 Number of Districts: 2
Our work-study tutors work with 200 children in Pre-K through grade 5 both during and afterschool in five local schools and the University of Florida Laboratory school. Volunteers also tutor children. Title One funds have been made available to assist with training and materials. Coordination is funded through a research grant written to study the effects of tutor training on reading achievement of children. The Florida Commission on Community Service has provided support for our research and tutoring efforts.
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
President Edward T. Foote II
America Reads Contact: Maria Pavon
Office of Student Employment, PO Box 248187
Coral Gables, Florida
Email:
mpavon@miami.edu
URL:
www.miami.edu/student-employment/studentinfo/amreads.html
Telephone: 305-284-6641 Fax: 305-284-6724
Number of Students: 30 Number of Districts: 1
The University of Miami in conjunction with the Miami-Dade County Public School District, Miami Dade Community College, Florida International University, and Barry University has responded to President Clinton's America Reads Challenge. A partnership was formed with 35 Dade County public schools, 6 community service agencies, and several school district after-school programs. Half of our students are placed at 10 of the 35 public schools (most placed in schools close to campus), and the other half are tutoring at community service agencies with tutoring programs located 10 minutes from campus, and the University's preschool.
Tutors, teachers, site coordinators, reading specialists, and after-school coordinators attend a training session and use a tutoring model or curriculum developed by the Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Our School of Education provices our tutors with scheduled training throughout the Fall and Spring semesters. Tutors are required to complete bi-weekly progress reports and meet once a semester with a Teaching and Learning Professor to further train and discuss the joys and challenges of their tutoring experience. Research is currently being conducted by the School of Education to assess the effectiveness of the program
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
President: President Betty Castor
America Reads Contact: Michael S. Tooke
4202 East Fowler Avenue, SVC 2088
Tampa, Florida
Email: mtooke@admin.usf.edu
URL: usfweb.usf.edu
Telephone: (813) 974- 4306 Fax: (813) 974-0998
Number of Students: 90 Number of Districts: Hillsborough County
The University of South Florida is pleased to have developed a partnership with Hillsborough Reads. Hillsborough Reads is an early intervention reading program initiated and sponsored by Communities in Schools of Hillsborough, a special project of the Hillsborough Education Foundation. This collaborative effort is fortunate to also have the sponsorship of the Corporation for National Service (CNS) through The Florida Commission on Community Service (FCCS). This CNS/FCCS sponsorship provides 18 full-time AmeriCorps members, 13 Foster Grandparents and 5 AmeriCorps VISTAs to assist with tutoring and with the coordination of federal work study (FWS) students and community volunteers. Other key partners include the School District of Hillsborough County, School Enrichment Resource Volunteers in Education (SERVE), and Seniors In Service. Our title corporate sponsors are Coca Cola and Little Caesars.
Tutoring takes place during the school day in one-to-one tutoring sessions with the FWS student/volunteer and the primary grade child. All FWS students and volunteers attend the "Building Better Readers" literacy tutor training developed by Hillsborough Reads program director, Deborah Gist-Evans, in consultation with classroom teachers, the school district language arts team, and Dr. Susan Homan from the University of South Florida. We are willing to share this training and other materials which we have developed over the past two years. The Hillsborough Reads staff can be reached by phone at (813) 272-3650 or email at achreads@aol.com.
UNIVERSITY OF TAMPA
President Dr. Ronald L. Vaughn
America Reads Contact: Sheri Ogorek
401 W. Kennedy Blvd. PH 427
Tampa, FL 33606
Email:
sogorek@alpha.utampa.edu
Telephone: 813-253-6219
Fax: 813-258-7439
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[DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA] [GEORGIA]
This page last updated May 5, 2000 (lw/pjk)