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Q: What is the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC)? A: ATC is a partnership between Alexandria's faith community, the City, community organizations, businesses, individuals and the Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS). Through these groups, volunteers are recruited to serve as reading readiness tutors for ACPS kindergarteners and reading tutors for first graders. Many individuals volunteer who are not associated with any group. Q: Which schools are served? A: In 2011 - 2012, a UVA Curry School of Education "Book Buddies" based program is used with first graders at John Adams, Charles Barrett, Cora Kelly, Patrick Henry, Jefferson-Houston, Matthew Maury, Mount Vernon, James K. Polk. A Book Buddies based "Reading Readiness" program will be used with kindergarteners at George Mason and Patrick Henry. Q: What kind of tutoring does ATC provide? A: Volunteers primarily tutor first graders who in the fall just barely passed Virginia?s reading test. (PALS test) The UVA Curry School of Education Book Buddies based program is used. This means volunteers receive training and that lesson plans and materials targeted at each child's reading needs are provided. ATC also recruits volunteers to tutor in kindergarten "Reading Readiness" programs which will begin this year in October at George Mason and Patrick Henry. Training, guidance and materials are provided. Volunteers tutor each child two15 minute sessions a week from October-May primarily in letter recognition and letter sounds moving toward teaching the literacy skill called "Concept of Word". All tutoring supports the Primary Initiative, a goal of the Alexandria City Public Schools and the mission of ATC which is to have all students reading at or above grade level by the end of second grade. Q. What is the impact of ATC tutoring? A: All ATC tutored students improved their literacy skills this past year. In the cohort of 142 first graders in the Book Buddies based program, 85% passed (reached or exceeded the benchmark) on the spring 2011 PALS* test. *Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening test. All 28 kindergarteners tutored in "Concept of Word" in two pilot reading readiness programs improved their understanding of where an individual word begins and ends. At George Mason, all 14 tutored reached their Spring 2011 literacy benchmark on the PALS test; at Patrick Henry, 13 of the 14 tutored reached their literacy benchmark. Q: What is the expected commitment from a tutor? A: ATC's commitment to each child in the Book Buddies program is to provide them with two 30 minute tutoring sessions in reading per week, mostly during school hours, from early October through May. Some volunteers tutor a child both sessions. Other volunteers team up with a friend or colleague to meet this commitment. School Coordinators can help arrange partners if that is needed. We strive to place everyone who wants to participate. The goal is for every first grader in the Book Buddies program to be tutored a minimum of 20 hours during the school year. At the beginning of the year when it is ready, you will be provided with a schedule for your school that includes the names and contact information for the Book Buddies liaison or Reading Readiness contact person, the teachers and the other volunteers tutoring in your program. If your tutoring partner is not available to substitute for you, please try another volunteer on the list to see if they can and then, please be open to tutoring for them if they need a substitute. Thanks. Q: When does the tutoring begin and end? A: The goal is for the ATC tutoring year to begin in early September at Mount Vernon Community School, a year round school, and may continue into June. In the remaining schools, the goal is for tutoring to begin in early October and continue until Memorial Day. We follow the school calendar on holidays and vacations and do not tutor when ACPS is closed (such as snow days). Q: What about training and orientation? A: All volunteers receive training from ACPS and have access to books and materials provided by the school. Tutors who work in schools with the Book Buddies program are provided with lesson plans and material customized to each child's specific needs. Volunteers tutoring kindergarteners also receive training, guidance and materials. All tutors are provided with an orientation to the school. Q: How are tutors assigned to schools? A: Tutors can serve in any of the schools with which we partner. Factors that influence choice are: proximity to the tutor's home or work, or the partnering of a tutor's congregation or organization with a particular school. Q: If I tutor with a partner, do we need to meet with our student during the same time slot? A: Yes. School coordinators work with the child's teacher and the tutor(s) to try to set a schedule and time that works for all concerned. Q: What if I tutored last year and want to continue with the same student? A: Given our focus on reading and the Primary Initiative, we encourage tutors to take on another student rather than continuing with a previous student who has moved on to third grade. However, individual requests are taken into account in the matching process. Q: How do I sign up? A: Click here to sign up on-line or contact Gwen Mullen, Executive Director at atc@opmh.org or (703) 549-6670 x119 if you have questions. Q: Are there any background checks, fees, or references required? A: No fees are required but ATC does require two references for all new volunteers. The ATC application for new volunteers includes a place to list the names of your references and a direct link to the reference form from which you can make copies to mail or e-mail to them. Q: How can I tell if I am helping my student? A: Volunteers tutoring in schools using the Book Buddies program will receive regular feedback from the ACPS staff member writing the lesson plans. Tutors can also gauge their student's reading progress by noticing the Guided Reading Book Level LETTER on the book their child is reading. A and B are kindergarten level books. As the child's literacy skills increase, the letters on the books change, letting you know the child you are tutoring is making progress. |
