| Principal Marcus Freeman of Galtier Community School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, shared an email he received from a Reading Corps parent. Galtier has been in distance learning mode since the beginning of the school year and both Reading Corps and Math Corps tutors have been delivering virtual tutoring to students. Written to express gratitude, the email began, “My daughter Janae*(2nd grade) has been working with James from Reading Corps. I have seen such a drastic improvement in her reading and wanted to let you know.” The parent continued to explain that for the past two years, they had been practicing sounding out words and reading with their child almost daily at home. They reported that more often than not, both parent and child grew frustrated and discouraged. “Janae has cried because she was so embarrassed she could not read something in front of other kids when it was her turn,” they explained. Seeing their child struggle has been terrible, “I wanted to cry because it just broke my heart.” Although their child was at the point of giving up when she started working with a tutor, so much has changed. Practicing reading used to be a stressful and unhappy event but mom reports that Janae looks forward to her daily tutoring sessions via Google Meet! “My gratitude for this experience is immeasurable,” she said. “I know more kids (and parents) could benefit from this experience. *Student and tutor names have been changed to protect the family’s privacy. |
