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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 tutors for ACPS first and second graders. Many individuals volunteer who are not associated with any group. Q: What schools will be served? A: John Adams, Charles Barrett, Patrick Henry, Jefferson-Houston, Cora Kelly, Lyles Crouch, Mt. Vernon, James K. Polk, William Ramsay, and Samuel Tucker. Q: What kind of tutoring does ATC provide? A: ATC volunteers tutor reading with first and second graders who have been identified by pre-testing as reading below grade level. This is in support of the Primary Initiative, a goal of the Alexandria City Public Schools to have all students reading at or above grade level by the end of second grade. Q: What is the expected commitment from a tutor? A: ATC's commitment to each child is to provide them with two 30 minute tutoring sessions in reading per week, mostly during school hours. 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. Q: When does the tutoring begin and end? A: The program year begins in August at Mount Vernon Community School and Samuel Tucker, both year round schools, and may continue into June. The program year begins in September in the remaining schools and continues to Memorial Day. We follow the school calendar on holidays and vacations, and do not tutor when the system 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 material 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. Tutors will be 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 tutors to set a schedule compatible 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 requires 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 e-mail them. Q: How can I tell if I am helping my student? A: Volunteers tutoring in schools using the Book Buddies program (all but Lyles Crouch) will receive regular feedback from the ACPS staff member writing the lesson plans. All volunteers may also confer with the classroom teacher. A report of reading gains for ATC tutored students can be found in the latest Annual Report which is available on the homepage. |
