When he first started working with his Augustine Project tutor, Daniel didn’t say much. He was a very sweet second grader; that was clear from his careful actions and his gentle smile. His tutor and I assumed that as his familiarity with English grew, we would hear more from him. Daniel was raised in a very loving Spanish-speaking home.

At the beginning of the school year, Travis was the smallest student in his first grade class. Although his teacher thought that he seemed intelligent, he tested into the lowest reading group. While half of his peers read sentences, Travis struggled to read the letters b, d, g, q, p, n, h, r, u and v. He wrote letters backwards and confused capital letters with lowercase ones. He could write no words. Travis scored below grade level in six out of seven assessments that composed his Augustine Project pre-test.

Thank you to our wonderful Augustine Project tutor, Linda Laufer, who sent in the following inspiring story about her student. We will call this student Stan for the sake of his privacy.

The Augustine Project helps many children each year get the skills they need to succeed. Volunteers with the Augustine Project make a real difference in the lives of real people.