READING SUCCESS
READING SUCCESS Written by Lynn Peithman Stock Photography by Danny Gaines
Carla Neumann and Volunteer Reading Partners
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portable classroom sits on the eastern edge of Los Arboles Elementary School in the Seven Trees neighborhood of San Jose. There’s no single teacher and yet 65 students spend about 45 minutes there twice a week to work on reading skills. The youngsters are at least a half a year behind grade level in reading, and with class sizes at 30 students or more, it is difficult for teachers to give them individualized attention.
need extra help learning to read. This school year, nearly 5,500 volunteer tutors provided more than 63,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring with students reading six months to two and a half years behind grade level. Locally, Reading Partners tutors work mostly with second, third and fourth graders. Reading center coordinators assess each student at the beginning of the school year. As Celena White, program manager for the South Bay, says, “It lets us know how far they are behind and where we should start them in the curriculum.”
But volunteer Carla Neumann can. She meets with five students two times a week at Los Arboles, including third grader Jared Recendiz Gomez. Jared happily plops down next to Ms. Carla for the day’s lesson. First, he chooses The Witches by Roald Dahl for Ms. Carla to read to him. Next, they tackle the “ar” sound in words, such as “car,” “farm” and “bark.”
This extra help to get students reading at their grade level is crucial to their future educational success, according to Dr. Cheryl McElvain, lecturer for interdisciplinary education and basic teacher credential programs at Santa Clara University. Research shows that if a student is not reading at grade level at the third grade, it can affect his or her high school graduation rate.
“Can you think of other ‘ar’ words?” Ms. Carla asks. “Jared...barn...card...” Jared rattles off as Ms. Carla writes them on a small white board at the table. “You do so much better when you actually look at the word you’re learning,” she says encouragingly. Welcome to Reading Partners, a non-profit literacy program that began in Silicon Valley in 1999 and has grown to help almost 5,000 students in six states and the District of Columbia. Reading Partners pairs volunteers with elementary-age students who
“It affects their ability to keep up,” says McElvain. “Reading is a predictor of high school graduation and academic achievement, especially by third grade.” In early elementary school, a student is learning to read. Beginning in fourth grade, a student needs to read to learn. “The Reading Partners program allows the student to really learn those strategies, one on one. It’s a fabulous way for the community to connect with the schools.”
“THE ONLY WAY WE CAN PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING IS TO HAVE ENOUGH TUTORS.”
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“We want our films to speak to as many people as possible.”
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“RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IF A STUDENT IS NOT READING AT GRADE LEVEL AT THE THIRD GRADE, IT CAN AFFECT HIS OR HER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE.”
To qualify, a school must be designated as a Title One School, meaning that at least 75 percent of its students receive free or reduced lunch. In addition to the Bay Area, Reading Partners serves students in San Francisco/East Bay, Sacramento/ Chico, Baltimore, Charleston, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York. Each Reading Partners center is funded through private donations, family foundations and AmeriCorps grants, and schools contribute funding as well. On average, each school donates about $57,000 to each program a year. Schools also provide physical space for the reading center and library. No matter how much funding the program has, it needs people power the most. “The only way we can provide one-on-one tutoring is to have enough tutors,” says Joe Ventura, senior communications manager at Reading Partners in Oakland. Volunteers meet at partner schools Mondays through Thursdays during the day, and first need to go through a background check, participate in an online tutor orientation training session, and meet a Reading Partners staff member for a one-on-one tutor training session. The program provides an extensive step-by-step curriculum for each student. Carla Neumann started volunteering as a tutor three years ago when her two children got older. “I have the time to do it and I enjoy it,” she says. Like each of the 60 tutors at Los Arboles, working consistently with students is key. “For a lot of kids, they don’t have that consistency. It’s important for someone to say, ‘You’re worthy and I’m committing my time to you.’” And the program works. According to Reading Partners statistics, in the 2011-12 school year, 89 percent of students accelerated their progress in reading. Before enrollment last year, students gained an average of only 0.6 months of reading skills for every month in the classroom. By the end of the year with Reading Partners, the students gained an average of 1.6 months of reading skills per month, more than doubling their rate of learning and catching up to their on-grade peers. “The volunteer tutors in our program are changing the lives of students by giving of their time each week,” says CEO Michael Lombardo. “With the support of these dedicated men and women, Reading Partners will continue to grow to reach more children in need.”
Information on how to be a volunteer readingpartners.org/SILICON-VALLEY-sign-up Email: [email protected] Training continues year-round. Tutoring runs September through mid-May, Mondays through Thursdays
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Carla Neumann and Volunteer Reading Partners
A
portable classroom sits on the eastern edge of Los Arboles Elementary School in the Seven Trees neighborhood of San Jose. There’s no single teacher and yet 65 students spend about 45 minutes there twice a week to work on reading skills. The youngsters are at least a half a year behind grade level in reading, and with class sizes at 30 students or more, it is difficult for teachers to give them individualized attention.
need extra help learning to read. This school year, nearly 5,500 volunteer tutors provided more than 63,000 hours of one-on-one tutoring with students reading six months to two and a half years behind grade level. Locally, Reading Partners tutors work mostly with second, third and fourth graders. Reading center coordinators assess each student at the beginning of the school year. As Celena White, program manager for the South Bay, says, “It lets us know how far they are behind and where we should start them in the curriculum.”
But volunteer Carla Neumann can. She meets with five students two times a week at Los Arboles, including third grader Jared Recendiz Gomez. Jared happily plops down next to Ms. Carla for the day’s lesson. First, he chooses The Witches by Roald Dahl for Ms. Carla to read to him. Next, they tackle the “ar” sound in words, such as “car,” “farm” and “bark.”
This extra help to get students reading at their grade level is crucial to their future educational success, according to Dr. Cheryl McElvain, lecturer for interdisciplinary education and basic teacher credential programs at Santa Clara University. Research shows that if a student is not reading at grade level at the third grade, it can affect his or her high school graduation rate.
“Can you think of other ‘ar’ words?” Ms. Carla asks. “Jared...barn...card...” Jared rattles off as Ms. Carla writes them on a small white board at the table. “You do so much better when you actually look at the word you’re learning,” she says encouragingly. Welcome to Reading Partners, a non-profit literacy program that began in Silicon Valley in 1999 and has grown to help almost 5,000 students in six states and the District of Columbia. Reading Partners pairs volunteers with elementary-age students who
“It affects their ability to keep up,” says McElvain. “Reading is a predictor of high school graduation and academic achievement, especially by third grade.” In early elementary school, a student is learning to read. Beginning in fourth grade, a student needs to read to learn. “The Reading Partners program allows the student to really learn those strategies, one on one. It’s a fabulous way for the community to connect with the schools.”
“THE ONLY WAY WE CAN PROVIDE ONE-ON-ONE TUTORING IS TO HAVE ENOUGH TUTORS.”
30
“We want our films to speak to as many people as possible.”
31
“RESEARCH SHOWS THAT IF A STUDENT IS NOT READING AT GRADE LEVEL AT THE THIRD GRADE, IT CAN AFFECT HIS OR HER HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE.”
To qualify, a school must be designated as a Title One School, meaning that at least 75 percent of its students receive free or reduced lunch. In addition to the Bay Area, Reading Partners serves students in San Francisco/East Bay, Sacramento/ Chico, Baltimore, Charleston, Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York. Each Reading Partners center is funded through private donations, family foundations and AmeriCorps grants, and schools contribute funding as well. On average, each school donates about $57,000 to each program a year. Schools also provide physical space for the reading center and library. No matter how much funding the program has, it needs people power the most. “The only way we can provide one-on-one tutoring is to have enough tutors,” says Joe Ventura, senior communications manager at Reading Partners in Oakland. Volunteers meet at partner schools Mondays through Thursdays during the day, and first need to go through a background check, participate in an online tutor orientation training session, and meet a Reading Partners staff member for a one-on-one tutor training session. The program provides an extensive step-by-step curriculum for each student. Carla Neumann started volunteering as a tutor three years ago when her two children got older. “I have the time to do it and I enjoy it,” she says. Like each of the 60 tutors at Los Arboles, working consistently with students is key. “For a lot of kids, they don’t have that consistency. It’s important for someone to say, ‘You’re worthy and I’m committing my time to you.’” And the program works. According to Reading Partners statistics, in the 2011-12 school year, 89 percent of students accelerated their progress in reading. Before enrollment last year, students gained an average of only 0.6 months of reading skills for every month in the classroom. By the end of the year with Reading Partners, the students gained an average of 1.6 months of reading skills per month, more than doubling their rate of learning and catching up to their on-grade peers. “The volunteer tutors in our program are changing the lives of students by giving of their time each week,” says CEO Michael Lombardo. “With the support of these dedicated men and women, Reading Partners will continue to grow to reach more children in need.”
Information on how to be a volunteer readingpartners.org/SILICON-VALLEY-sign-up Email: [email protected] Training continues year-round. Tutoring runs September through mid-May, Mondays through Thursdays
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