There is a literacy crisis in Montgomery County. The pandemic all but wiped out close to two years of learning for Pre-K to 1st graders. Children are entering 2nd grade with 3 years of preparation to squeeze into one so they can meet 3rd grade expectations e.g. the basic ability to acquire information through reading. Without intervention, hundreds upon hundreds of children, particularly Black and Brown students, will struggle with reading for the rest of their academic years.
So how do we help? Volunteer tutoring gives members of the community a very direct, face-to-face, person-to-person means of alleviating this issue. Volunteers literally teach children how to read. Through sit-down sessions with one volunteer for 2 – 3 students every week, reading can happen!
While learning a 2nd language may necessitate skilled teachers, a volunteer with a book and some simple pointers needs hardly any training at all to teach reading. When it comes right down to it, all you need to know how to do is, well, read! It’s that simple. Few rewards surpass the recognition at year’s end of saying: “I helped Juanita learn how to read” or “Gustavo is now reading due in large part to my help.”
We are now recruiting volunteers who would like to tutor once or twice a week on Mondays or Tuesdays, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. starting Monday, October 3 at the Stedwick Community Center.
If you are interested, please come to one of our two-hour orientation sessions – attendance does not commit you to tutor; it’s an information meeting. Having heard more about what’s involved, you can make your own choice if you want to commit to tutoring for the year or semester.
Every tutor must:
- Get a background check; and
- Attend an orientation session on ONE of the following dates:
Monday, September 12, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Monday, September 19, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 27, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
All volunteers, regardless of whether you want to tutor or help out in any other way, must attend an orientation session.
Sign up HERE to attend.
There are many ways to help a community. But in a crisis, we focus on the acute issue at hand. This is a crisis. Futures are at stake. There is a 2nd grader who needs your one-on-one attention if only for an hour a week. Teachers spend up to six hours a day with our young ones. All we are asking is one hour a week.
Thank you for your consideration. Sign up HERE for an orientation session if you can help.