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[VERMONT]Samples of America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study Programs and National Service Initiatives
BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
President James Backman
America Reads Contact: Karyn Narayan
2010 WSC P.O. Box 27908
Provo, Utah
Email:
kunarayan@stlife.byu.edu
Telephone: 801-378-1277
Fax: 801-378-1290
Number of FWS Students: 3
Number of Districts: Provo
The BYU "America Reads" Program was established September 2000. Currently we employ 3 Utah Federal Work Study Students and 3 Multi-Cultural Students. Our tutors go to two schools in the Provo School District. As we are able to grow larger we hope to incorporate more schools and more tutors into our program.
SALT LAKE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
President Frank W. Budd
America Reads Contact: Susan A. Marchant
Thayne Community Service Center,
PO Box 30808
Salt Lake City, UT 84130-0808
Email:
marchasu@slcc.edu
Telephone:
801-957-4555
Fax: 801-957-4958
Number of FWS Students:
25-35
Number of Districts: Granite School District and Salt Lake School District
The Thayne Community Service Center at Salt Lake Community College oversees the America Reads program. We work in partnership with our financial aid office and are part of a colloboration with two other institutions of higher education in the Salt Lake metropolitan area, Westminster College and the University of Utah and the Corporation for National Service. Through the collaboration, we have established an America Reads Steering Committee. We utilize both VISTAs and AmeriCorps members to help coordinate the program from the service center sites.
We have placed America Reads tutors at our partnership schools, Redwood and Whittier Elementary. We also have tutors at SLCC's early childhood development lab school and Lincoln Elementary. We have an average of 25 tutors per quarter. Most of these tutors are work study eligible. Our tutors work between 4 and 20 hours per week helping between 1 and 5 young students. We have focused on tutoring children in kindergarten through third grade but also help younger children and children in grades fourth through sixth. The hours of tutoring are generally 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. but we do have tutors placed in after-school programs when these programs exist and there is sufficient support staff at the school.
The tutors must attend an initial training and orientation session and then meet periodically for continued training, reflection sessions and meetings. The bulk of the tutors' time is in direct service with the children. Tutors tell us they enjoy the work they do and the relationships they are able to establish and build with the children. They complain about not having enough space at the schools (often they have to tutor in the halls) and a lack of resources (i.e. books).
Overall, this is a highly regarded program at SLCC and in the community. We are learning as we go and feel it has been and will continue to be a worthy effort.
SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY
President Steven Bennion
America Reads Contact: Bill O'Neill
351 W. Center St.
Cedar City, Utah 84720
Email: oneill@suu.edu
Telephone: (435) 865-8175
Fax: 435-865-8152
Number of Students:
22
Number of Districts: Iron County
We are currently using work study (general) funds to hire 22 students to tutor during after school hours. Approximately 70 students will be tutored throughout this academic year in Iron County, Utah. Southern utah University has identified 5 special needs students in reading that are also being tutored throughout the week during regular classroom hours. The students identfied are in only one school in the district. There is obviously a great need that is not being filled throughout the entire school district. Iron County is the seat of the Paiute Tribe. They were detribalized between 1955
and the late 1980's. The socio/economic status and literacy rates are well below the norm.
UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
President Bernie Machen
200 S. Central Campus Dr. Rm.101
SLC, UT 84112
America Reads Contact: Joanna Lund or Kim McKay
Telephone: (801) 585-9101
Fax: (801) 585-9241
E-mail: jlund@ssb1.saff.utah.edu
Number of FWS students: 17
The University of Utah America Reads program is helping children read at Parkview and Hawthorne Elementaries through quality tutors and strong partnerships. Two VISTAs coordinate the America Reads program at the University of Utah. They recruit, train, and place tutors at Parkview and Hawthorne Elementaries with the help of the Office of Financial Aid, Salt Lake Community
College and Westminster College, and elementary school supervisors.
The Office of Financial Aid and the two VISTAs recruit Federal Work Study students and volunteers to serve as America Reads tutors. Work Study students and volunteers commit to tutor during school hours or during after-school programs for at least one semester. Elementary school supervisors match tutors with a child for 30 or 45 minutes. Elementary school supervisors coordinate the tutors' schedules and ensure that tutors work with the same child or small group
of children consistently. They also help implement program evaluations. This semester nine volunteers and 17 Federal Work Study students are tutoring children at Parkview and Hawthorne. They are committed and have a positive influence on the children with whom they work.
Collaboration with Salt Lake Community College and Westminster College has strengthened the program at the University of Utah. Because of this collaboration, qualiy general trainings and addditional in-service trainings have been available throughout the year. Also, program evaluation has been developed. Through complementary and supportive partnerships and excellent tutors, the University of Utah America Reads program is helping reach the goal of having every fouth grader read on grade level.
Everyday, U. students journey to the west side of the valley to work with children from Parkview Elementary, in a partnership the Bennion Center. The challenges that the students feel are very real -- Parkview scored in the 14th percentile for reading, which means that 86% of all children in the United States read better than they do. A typical response heard by our tutors who work with fifth graders often is: .I hate to read. I hate to read because I can.t.. As one tutor wrote during a reflection session: .One of the most difficult things is giving the children self-confidence. They are all intelligent, but they do not know it, and often times they act up because they do not believe in themselves..
However, the challenges that these tutors face have never steered them from their course. They continuously act as good role models for the children and their belief in these children.s ability to do well never falters -- they have tutored approximately 200 children and already have given over 830 hours of service.
It is not just these hardworking tutors who have contributed to the success of this program. There are many facets which add to its strength. Parkview Elementary, especially volunteer coordinator, Toni Sage, and myself (America Reads Coordinator at the Bennion Center) have worked together to ensure that teachers, children, and tutors are content with the program. We continuously collaborate to ensure that University students are trained properly for good .volunteer. experiences. This training includes making students aware of school policy as well as aware of their role as a reading tutor. They are trained by Parkview.s literacy specialist, Tina Harris, in how to utilize the school.s specific reading program, which is known as LVA (Literacy Volunteers of America), and understand that they are to support the school.s existing program. Moreover, the U. students are educated about their working environment and the amazing richness that the various cultures within the Parkview community have to offer -- we are constantly learning about ourselves as well as others by stepping outside of our own comfort zones.
Another reason that this program works well is that the faculty and staff of Parkview Elementary give us unconditional support. The principal of Parkview Elementary, Marietta Barton, states: .Parkview students benefit by having these highly motivated students as role models as well as getting additional help in reading. Each of the tutors is already making an impact on our students academically as well as socially. Research shows that .at risk. students are very resilient, but they need one person in their lives who believes in them. This is what will happen with the one on one tutoring they are receiving..
Furthermore, the teachers are ecstatic to have educated tutors who are able to work with children on an individual basis. Now extended learning time is possible for children who need the extra help, which is near impossible for teachers with class sizes of 25-30 students. Teachers continually comment approvingly on the tutors behalf. For instance, at a staff meeting last quarter teachers comments included: .I have a child in my class who couldn.t read, and 10 weeks later, he is reading with flying colors.. Another teacher said: .I want more tutors. I have tutors for the really needy children, but I would like to have more for those who also need help.. The statement that stood out to me the most came from Parkview.s Literacy Specialist, Tina Harris: . Now everyone wants their own personal tutor. It is no longer a stigma to receive extra help -- it.s not like going to resource..
Indeed, the fundamental success of the program is due to the support given by all parties involved. The Bennion Center and the Office of Financial Aid have continued to work closely on this program to ensure its success. This close working relationship began when the Clinton Administration announced its proposal of the .America Reads. program. Because numerous studies showed that those children who did not read well by the end of their 3rd grade year had a significantly greater risk of dropping out of school, it became clear that something needed to be done to help our future leaders. Thus, the Clinton Administration.s goal was to mobilize 100,000 Federal Work-Study (FWS) students to serve as reading tutors for children in elementary grades K-6, with a primary focus on K-3. The U. of U. agreed to sign onto this initiative, and therefore, the program is funded 100% by the Federal government. This allows students with financial burdens to support themselves through college while giving them the opportunity to participate in direct service. We are hopeful that these good experiences that the tutors have will open their eyes to a wonderful and much needed profession as well as encourage them to live a lifetime of service.
Additionally, the three colleges who are .America Reads. institutions in the Salt Lake City area, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community College, and the U. of U., have collaborated efforts on numerous occasions to make sure the Salt Lake area .America Reads. is a success. Thus far, we have developed helpful guidelines for faculty and staff of elementary schools who wish to use FWS students as reading tutors, as well as criteria for a successful elementary school/college partnership in the hopes that more people will want to become involved.
The benefits of this program are not fully measurable. How is one to measure the emotional growth and self-confidence that these children have gained? We can to a certain extent by the smiles we exchange and their new enthusiasm for reading. The Bennion Center is proud to participate in the .America Reads. program -- the teachings of our community are rich and invaluable. Although our tutors are paid for their time, this job has affected them significantly. As one tutor stated: .I would be doing this even if I weren.t paid.. Our experiences at Parkview Elementary far outweigh any monetary value.
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
President George H. Emert
America Reads Contact: Carol Rosenthal, Assistant Director, Academic Resource Center
0120 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-0120
Email:
carolr@admissions.usu.edu
URL: www.usu.edu/~acaserv/center/americareads/index.htm
Telephone:
(435) 797-4027
Fax: (435) 797-1154
Number of FWS Students:
19
Number of Districts: 2
The Utah State University America Reads program is directed by the Assistant Director of the Academic Resource Center, who works closely with the Financial Aid Office to recruit tutors, manage funding and other administrative matters.
Tutors are hired and placed following a comprehensive interview with the ARC assistant director and based on the needs expressed by the tutoring sites. Tutors are placed within two school districts for a total of six elementary schools, one middle school, and in the community literacy program. They work mainly in the classroom during normal school hours. Tutors are recruited through the Financial Aid Work Study job board, school newspaper, flyers, professors and advisers in relevant academic departments, and selected Student Services units such as Multicultural Student Services.
Tutors are required to attend a mandatory one credit training class, which is conducted one hour per week for 12 weeks for new tutors and 8 weeks for returning tutors. Instructors for the class include the ARC assistant director, professors, and other campus and community professionals with expertise in various topic areas. Topics are identified via needs analysis with the tutors, to ensure that relevant training is provided to support their work at their assigned schools.
A bi-monthly newsletter, "Noble Passage" is published, highlighting general literacy statistics and information, successes of tutors and tutors' students, and tutoring strategies and activities. The newsletter is distributed to tutors, tutoring sites, and other relevant campus and community individuals. An America Reads Web site was developed, which provides information about the program and tutors, as well as providing links to tutoring resources and activities. This site can be accessed from : http://www.usu.edu/~acaserv/center/frames/lcframes.html
The assistant director conducts an annual assessment with each site (principal and/or teachers) to determine program strengths and areas for change. Tutors are observed on an ongoing basis to provide necessary support and performance evaluation. Tutors receive salary adjustments each semester based on their performance evaluations. Because some of the tutoring sites require more than average traveling, tutors working at these sites have an adjustment in their hourly wage, based on the mileage reimbursement currently authorized by the university.
In the spring, the America Reads program and the Financial Aid office collaborate to sponsor a Multicultural Learning Fair, which is held on the USU campus. Students from all of the tutoring sites are involved in projects writing, art, music, and science projects relating to a particular theme (in 98-99 it was "dinosaurs"). Students are brought to campus to engage in the projects, assisted by their teachers, America Reads tutors, and other university students. The finished projects are displayed and an evening program is planned for the students and their parents. Books are distributed to all of the children, funded by the universities financial aid lenders.
All of the school sites who have worked with USU's America Reads have received it very enthusiastically, have been extremely supportive, and provide good feedback to ensure the program's quality.
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This page last updated December 5, 2000 (lvb)