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A learning oasis: how tutors are helping students find their inner confidence
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One child, one reading mentor, meeting for a one-hour learning session, once a week. It sounds simple, but to both the student and the mentor can have lasting effects.
That is the goal of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Oasis鈥� Intergenerational Tutoring Program. Started in 1990, the program pairs unpaid Oasis tutors with students who are behind their classmates in reading and writing comprehension skills.
鈥淭he idea is to meet the students where they are and get (them) excited about reading,鈥� Vicki DeVinge, Oasis tutoring program director, said.
The program has about 330 tutors working with elementary school students in 55 schools across sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Belen and Bernalillo. DeVinge said the program鈥檚 tutors include former educators, doctors, scientists and engineers.
Oasis tutor Mary Mandeville said interaction with students is her favorite part of being an Oasis tutor.
鈥淪eeing those kids every day, I get so much more from them than they鈥檒l ever get from me. It鈥檚 very rewarding,鈥� she said.
A speech therapist, Mandeville said looking for a way to remain 鈥渦seful鈥� in retirement. That鈥檚 when she stumbled upon Oasis and the intergenerational tutoring program.
鈥淚 love books, I love kids, and I saw this opportunity and I thought this sounds great,鈥� she said.
The process of volunteering to become a tutor begins with a conversation with DeVinge about the program. 鈥淚 want to get to know you, I want to understand what your motivation is? Why do you choose to volunteer?鈥� she asks.
After this conversation, the individual then undergoes a day of training during which they are taught about Oasis鈥� six-step literacy program, which is focused how to talk, read, write, and teach vocabulary to a elementary school student. Perspective volunteers also undergo a FBI background check, paid for by Oasis.
The six-step program is used as the foundation for how tutors build session plans for their students. Tutors also use tools like journals, or 鈥渨ords I know鈥� booklets to help students with reading, writing, and word comprehension.
Students are selected to work with Oasis tutors on a referral basis by their teachers, DeVinge said. After the student and the tutor are paired, the first few sessions together are designed to be more conversational and less about reading and writing. These conversations allow the tutor to learn more about the students, their interests, and their learning style.
鈥淓ducation is designed for all of us to be on one track. We鈥檙e supposed to learn certain things in each subject,鈥� DeVinge said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 learn the same way, so tutors design session plans based off of that student to get them excited about reading.鈥�
Jan Bandrofchak, who鈥檚 been tutoring with Oasis for the past seven years, said the student she is working with this year is very interested in books that either rhyme or are about animals. Past students have had varied interests.
鈥淭hey want princess stories or they want adventure. One little girl wanted to learn about being a detective,鈥� Bandrofchak said.
After learning what interests their students, tutors can then choose from the 8,300 books in Oasis鈥� library, located at their sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Oasis Institute, 3301 Menaul NE.
The institute also doubles as one of the tutoring program鈥檚 source of funding. The income generated from paid classes it offers to adults is used subsidize part of the cost of training and background checks for volunteers.
DeVinge said grants the program writes also help fund the tutoring program.
To help measure the impact the reading sessions have on students, for the first time this year, Oasis will analyze data from students鈥� i-Ready and Istation test scores from the beginning and end of the school year.
DeVinge explained that Oasis has partnered with a statistician from APS and will send out a Google Doc to teachers with students in the program, asking them to fill out the students鈥� reading test score from the first round of testing in September and the final round of testing in May.
That data will then be compiled to give a visual representation of the growth students are experiencing in reading comprehension. But in the bigger picture, DeVinge is hopeful the work of Oasis鈥� volunteers will leave a deeper impression that will positively impact all aspects of their lives.
Learning oasis in pictures
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a confident student, if you鈥檙e a confident reader, it spreads through all of your academia. That is very powerful,鈥� she said.
