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About ATC
Beginnings In 1996, Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) launched the Primary Initiative - setting the goal that all students in ACPS would be able to read and do math at grade level by the end of second grade. When Rev. Gary Charles, then the pastor of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House, heard about the Primary Initiative, he joined with Herbert Berg (then superintendent of ACPS) to start a program that united local faith communities and elementary school principals, teachers, and reading specialists to provide reading tutors to first and second grade students. In October 1997, 110 tutors from 16 faith communities began tutoring at Jefferson-Houston, William Ramsay and Mt. Vernon elementary schools. During that first year, Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC) tutored 80 students. Today ATC is still working to provide a foundation for future learning success by ensuring that all first and second graders in ACPS can read at or above grade level by the end of second grade. We continue toward that goal through one-on-one tutoring sessions at nine (out of thirteen) local elementary schools. Since our beginning, ATC has served over 800 students identified as needing assistance in reading. We know by pre and post testing that, on average, these students have progressed "one year, two months" in reading ability in the eight months of tutoring they receive. Most of the students that receive tutoring do not read at grade level at the beginning of the school year, but tutoring results in 80 percent reading at or above grade level at the end of the school year. ATC has incorporated and received tax-exempt 501c3 status. As a result we are able to receive tax-deductible contributions from individuals, organizations, businesses, etc. Future There are still unserved first and second graders who would benefit from tutoring in reading. ATC continues to recruit more congregations, community groups, and tutors in an effort to meet the need that ACPS has expressed. With more tutors we hope to enable more students at more schools to read at or above grade level by the end of second grade. How ATC Tutoring Operates Schedule The ATC year runs from early October until Memorial Day in most schools and from August through June at modified calendar schools (Tucker and Mt. Vernon). Some tutors make arrangements with the student's teacher to continue tutoring until the end of the school year (mid-June). We follow the school calendar on holidays and vacations, and do not tutor when the system is closed (such as snow days). Most tutoring occurs during school hours, between 8 AM and 2 PM on weekdays. ATC's preferred model is for volunteers to tutor individually or in pairs to ensure each identified student receives tutoring two times per week. Tutoring sessions last for 30 minutes. Tutors can sign up for two consecutive time slots and work with more than one student. Tutor Training The ACPS curriculum specialist for reading provides free training for ATC tutors. Level 1 Tutoring Training is designed for beginning tutors and Level 2 for returning tutors. ESL strategies are incorporated into both. All tutors will be provided with appropriate school orientation by the School Coordinator. Selecting the Students First and second grade classroom teachers and school reading specialists identify students in need of help with reading. They use a pre-assessment instrument which measures student's reading grade level. At the end of the year a similar post-assessment instrument is used to measure student progress. During the 2006-2007 program year, ATC tutors worked with students at John Adams, Charles Barrett, Jefferson-Houston, James K. Polk, Lyles-Crouch, Maury, Mt. Vernon, William Ramsay, and Samuel Tucker. Scheduling Sessions School Volunteer Coordinators match tutors with selected first and second graders and schedule tutoring sessions. If necessary, School Volunteer Coordinators can help arrange tutoring partners. We strive to find an appropriate placement for everyone who wants to participate. Tutoring Sessions Tutoring sessions are one-on-one. They focus on reading and the student's oral and written response to books selected specifically for the emergent reader. Tutoring materials will be selected by Alexandria City Public Schools and, if necessary, purchased using ATC funds. This tutoring program supplements the classroom instructional time devoted to reading. A typical tutoring session includes:
Tutors should sign in to the tutor notebook at the front office and pick up an ID tag upon arrival. They should sign out of the notebook and return ID tag when leaving.
Volunteers
ATC has a variety of volunteer positions. Brief descriptions are below to provide a sense of who you may come in contact with through your involvement with the program.
Tutors are the core of our program. Tutors serve by themselves or as part of a team working with a first- or second-grade student to improve reading skills.
Congregation/Community Coordinators promote ATC and act to recruit and support tutors within their faith community or community group.
School Volunteer Coordinators are employed by ACPS. They arrange for orientation to their school, assign tutors to specific students, schedule tutoring sessions, and generally serve as a resource person for tutors.
Board members are responsible for the overall
policy and direction of ATC, and delegate responsibility of day-to-day
operations to the staff and committees. Board meetings are open to other
interested parties. See 2007-2008 ATC
Board of Directors Roster.
Other volunteers are welcome and need only contact the ATC office. Interested parties can help with events, mailings, fundraising, public relations, etc.
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