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[NEW MEXICO]Samples of America Reads Challenge Federal Work-Study Programs and National Service Initiatives
DEVRY INSTITUTE
President Robert Bocchino
America Reads Contact: Marcia Grasso
630 US Highway One
North Brunswick, NJ
Email: p-michel@worldnet.att.net
Website: www.nj.devry.edu
Telephone: 732-435-4870
Number of Students: 10
Number of Districts: 2
Our America Reads Program is being developed through the service committee of our school's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa. Our current vice president of this committee is Peter. T. Michel. If you have any questions regarding our America Reads program you may contact Mr. Michel directly at 732-254-3119. Our publicity, thus far, has been limited while we have placed our initial focus on building a strong foundation. Publicity has been primarily word of mouth and yet we have received a wonderful response from students interested in becoming tutors. We welcome all volunteers who wish to contribute their time to this child literacy program, as well as any feedback from organizations who would like to link with our Website when it becomes available. Please contact. us.
Over the past two months we have been developing a foundation for our two-year project in order to be most effective in serving children, primarily grades K-3, over the course of this project. The response from our students asked to serve as tutors has been wonderful. We have made contacts with elementary school faculty in New York and in New Jersey where we intend to begin our tutoring. We have a retired English teacher who has volunteered to screen and train our tutors and a professional Website developer who has volunteered to create a Website for our America Reads program. On our WEbsite we intend to have links to major child literacy sites including the U.S. DOE, RIF (Reading Is Fundamental), and other America Reads Websites. One of our main goals for our Website is to provide a centralized hub for networking, where the strengths of the many child literacy organizations which are already active can come together to discuss and implement new and bold strategies for increasing literacy. We are also looking to connect with AARP in order to give seniors the opportunity to get involved as tutors within their own communities. We believe that this will prove to be extremely rewarding to both the seniors and the children.
NEW JERSEY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION
President Robert Gurarcci
America Reads Contact:
Jennifer Joyce/ Ryan Haldeman
13 1/2 Van Houten St.
Paterson, NJ 07505
Email:
NJCDC@worldnet.att.net
URL:
Telephone:
(973) 225-0555
Fax:
(973) 225-0556
Number of Students:
Number of Districts:
Paterson
Our America Reads program runs Monday through Friday, from 3-6PM at Paterson's School #2. We Are seeking volunteers, interns, and FWS students to serve as reading tutors for our 50 students, who are in grades first through third.
Our program presents an excellent opportunity for those interested in gaining first hand experience in education, social services, and non-profit work.
THE LEARNING CENTER @ HAMILTON SQUARE
President: Erin Servillo-Gross Fran Gates
America Reads Contact: Erin Servillo Fran Gates
2452 Kuser Rd
Trenton, NJ
Email: erinfran@erols.com
Telephone: 609-890-6599
Fax: 609-587-1619
The Learning Center at Hamilton Square provides multisensory tutoring for those students who are experiencing difficulty learning in the regular classroom. Our tutors are trained by certified teachers in methods which provide various modalities with which to improve the students learning. Heavy emphasis is on phonological awareness and sound-symbol identification. Sessions are one hour per day twice a week and take place in the Learning Center.
RUTGERS-THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
President Francis L. Lawrence
America Reads Contact: Sharon Welsh, Director of Student Employment
Financial Aid, 620 George Street
New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1175
Email: swelsh@rci.rutgers.edu
Website: www.rutgers.edu
Telephone: 732-932-8817, Ext. 646
Fax: 732-932-0524
Number of FWS Students: 46
Districts: New Brunswick, Camden, Newark
Rutgers University has three America Reads initiatives in Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. Federal Work Study Program (FWSP) employees tutor in a local New Brunswick public school, helping children in the classroom as well as in separate sessions. A faculty member from The Graduate School of Education trains and supervises students; she is also conducting research on the impact of the tutoring program on the children. In Camden, tutors work in The LEAP Academy, a charter school in the heart of the city. FWSP tutors assist in the classroom. In Newark, where we have two sites, FWSP tutors provide help to students in an after-school program and in a school setting. To date, the majority of children served have been predominantly in the pre-K through third grade age groups. In addition to the number of tutors, we have several FWSP graduate and undergraduate students providing administrative support to the program.
Before the start of the academic year, we surveyed students to determine the number of students who would be interested in tutoring reading to young children. Although we asked about work experience and grade point average in our survey, we also stressed that students who liked reading, liked children, and were willing to commit to a consistent schedule were as important to us as those with prior experience. We changed our FWSP application to include a section where students could express an interest specifically in America Reads. These two initiatives were helped us to develop our tutoring workforce. In order to launch a successful program, it is essential to find dedicated students, professional training, ongoing supervision and mentoring, and worksites that are open to trying something new. Our three programs are working well at Rutgers and we hope to expand in the future.
SUSSEX COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE
President Dr. William Connor
America Reads Contact: Maureen Murphy-Smolka
One College Hill
Newton, New Jersey 07860
Email: mmurphys@www.sussex.cc.nj.us
Website: www.sussex.cc.nj.us/am_reads/ar_faq1.htm
Telephone: 973-300-2196
Fax: 973-1620
Number of FWS Students: 5
Number of Districts: 5
SCCC Reading Buddies serve as mentors to provide a safe environment for children to experiment with the written word. They are a resource person who cna provide background information to prepare children for a story. They are a model for good oral reading practices. They are a listener who provides their "buddy" with an opportunity to perform. Comprehension skills are improved by respnding to what the children have read and commented on. Their positive support helps children attain the confidence needed to be a successful reader. They are a secretary for chldren to help them see the connection between reading and writing. They are a helper for recognizing and learning sight words though games and the development of a vocabulary file. They are library aides who use the "Five Finger Method" to help children select books that they can read from the library. This provides the children with a life-long activity for experiencing the pleaseure that comes from enjoying a good book. They are truly dedicated individuals intersted in helping others, especially children. In addition to our five FWS mentors, we have six mentors who are volunteers and one adjunct professor serving as a volunteer mentor.
We started at two schools this fall. One is an after school program. Our mentors work for an hour with two second grade students each. They spent thirty minutes on oral reading, journaling and vocabulary development. The last thirty minutes involves a craft and/or activity related to the reading. The second site is an in school program for first graders. This is a one on one program. One mentor works in the classroom with the students and the other mentor works in the library. We are in the process of conducting workshops for the parents of the children involved in the program. Parents, teachers, students and mentors enthusiastically endorse these programs. All students have improved in their reading behaviors and attitudes. This spring semester we added three more schools serving second and third graders in an in school program. Two local newspapers have covered this program. Our college newspaper will be featuring the SCCC Reading Buddies Program in its next add! ition. We hope to continue this program in the existing schools next year as well as bring the program to new schools. It has been an exciting and enjoyable experience for all of us!
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