At 3:00 in the afternoon, Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church looks quiet, but inside there’s a hubbub of giggling, snacking, and fun going on, as 40 or so K-5th grader scholars arrive for the Youth Transformed for Life (YTL) afterschool program. A half hour later, our Literacy Leader interns and adult volunteers come through the doors and are immediately surrounded by kids wanting hugs or reading help. Veteran Youth Literacy volunteer, Roberta, leads one first grader up the stairs to a quiet nook, where they practice reading sight words. “I got that one right away,” shouts the student with pride. “You can retire it!” Then comes the hard word “does” and a short lesson about how that word doesn’t follow the magic “E” rule.
Literacy Leader Intern Caroline, a senior from Nesbitt Discovery Academy, encourages her student to choose two books, and then finds another quiet space for side-by-side reading. “I was one of those kids who didn’t really get math and English was my second language, so I can relate to these kids,” she says. Caroline recently discovered that her uncle, who has returned to his home country of Mexico, was once a student at Literacy Together. “That was like a full-circle moment,” she says. “He was a student here, and now I’m a tutor. I’m grateful for the teachers who helped me learn English, and I’m grateful to be able to give back.”
Interns and volunteers work with students for 2-4 hours each week at partnership afterschool sites. YTL Afterschool Director Walter Bradley said, “Kids who typically don’t like to read embrace books that are culturally relevant for them and ones that have characters and situations that represent their own lives. They like the word games the interns play with them. Literacy is hard if you have a learning disability or you’re behind the other kids in your class. They need to know, ‘I’m not in this by myself.’”
If you’re interested in helping a child crack the code of English and strengthen their literacy skills for everyday schoolwork, this is a fabulous opportunity to tutor during school hours, close to home, and on a flexible schedule. Sign up for an upcoming orientation (next date: March 17) or email Elyse Hurley, Youth Literacy Program Director.
