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Susan Burlingame has been tutoring at the Dixwell site for about one year. She started in early 2020, right after the COVID-19 pandemic hit and New Haven Reads had transitioned to a distance learning format. Susan began tutoring because she wanted to help increase students’ reading skills while also sharing some of her favorite books. When asked what keeps her coming back, she responded with, “All of the wonderful, dedicated staff at New Haven Reads and of course the students! It’s so wonderful connecting with them each week.” Susan described a fun experience she had with her first student she tutored. During choice time, they would draw pictures together. They would take turns choosing a subject matter, then draw pictures to show each other once they were done.

A book that “completely carried [her] away” when she was younger was To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of her current favorites is The Color of Water by James McBride. 

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Posted in Blog, Home Page, Volunteer Spotlight

We are excited to announce our 2021 Emcee and Word Pronouncer! For our 10th NHR Spelling Bee we have our host Ray Andrewsen of The Greater New Haven and Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce and Word Announcer Shana Schneider of Fitstyle by Shana.  

For event info and registration about our Spelling Bee, click here!

Ray Andrewsen is the Executive Director of the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce and formerly Director of Membership Services for the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce engaged in business development, partnerships benefits satisfaction, and community outreach. Previously he had been the General Manager and local morning radio voice on Quinnipiac University’s WQUN in Hamden for over 22 years. Ray has interviewed thousands of local and national guests. Under his direction WQUN served over 400 local advertisers, community and government organizations, religious and educational institutions, and non-profit groups every year. It was voted the New Haven area’s Best Radio Station as recently as the 2018 CTNow reader’s poll.

Ray has extensive civic experience having served on the board of directors of the Connecticut Broadcasters Association, Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce, Christian Community Action, Interfaith Volunteer Caregivers, Schooner Inc, and he is a past PTA president of Ridge Hill elementary school in Hamden. Ray is currently the president of the advisory board of the Salvation Army of New Haven, serves on the board of Clifford Beers Clinic, operations committee of the Ulbrich Boys and Girls Club, member of the New Haven Rotary, and panelist on the Hamden Juvenile Review Board. Ray received the Hamden Citizen of the Year Award from the Hamden Elks, Notable Citizen of the Year Award from the Hamden Chamber of Commerce, Community Impact Award from the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce, and the Arnold Dean Award for Connecticut Broadcasting from the Franciscan Life Center in 2019. He has been a regular presence around the area having served as a moderator, interviewer, and emcee at numerous local events.

 

Shana is the founder of Fitstyle by Shana and the creator of the FITS.T.Y.L.E. Your Life™  approach to fitness, which helps you find time for fitness in your everyday life. As a workshop + class leader, fitness educator and author, Shana has been featured in national magazines, websites and fitness blogs and is seen regularly on WTNH News 8. Prior to working on Fitstyle by Shana full time, she worked for over a decade holding several leadership positions at Yale University. She is an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and personal trainer and is licensed to teach Zumba Fitness. Shana serves as the VP of the Board of Directors for the New Haven Free Public Library, holds a B.A. from Yale University and is known for doing leg lifts in line at Starbucks.

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Posted in Blog, Events, Home Page

New Haven Reads began our fall tutoring session on September 7th. Willow, Bristol, and Science Park all opened their doors safely to excited students and tutors! We currently have 75% of students in-person and 25% online. It is so exciting to have so many students and tutors back in our sites. 

Our book bank recently changed their hours to hopefully help teachers visit conveniently. To view our new hours and information click here. 

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Shirley Cavanagh has been tutoring at the Bristol site for almost five years. As a librarian at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), she enjoyed helping students utilize resources for their undergraduate papers and graduate theses. She described herself as being almost a “college tutor.” She is currently a co-president of the Hamden Woman’s Club, a non-profit organization that provides a number of different volunteer services. 

After retiring in 2016, Shirley discovered New Haven Reads. She wanted to be involved in tutoring younger students who may be struggling or not particularly fond of reading. When asked what keeps her coming back to New Haven Reads, she responded, “Many things… I think the staff is exceptional. Especially in the past year and a half I’ve seen their dedication and commitment to continuing the program and continuing to work with students and their parents.”

One of Shirley’s all time favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and as a child it was the Anne of Green Gables series by Maud Montgomery. She also mentioned that when she used to babysit, she read Where the Wild Things Are multiple times and enjoyed doing so. 

Shirley described a memorable and rewarding experience she recently had during a Zoom session. Her and the student were reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid, typically taking turns every other page. Until one day the student who was once somewhat reluctant to read said, “I want to read.” 

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Posted in Volunteer Spotlight

Kristy White started tutoring at the Science Park site in May of 2021. She is a high school girl’s tennis coach, and describes herself  as a huge health and wellness geek. She discovered New Haven Reads when a friend of hers – a NHR tutor – forwarded her an email about summer internships that she thought Kristy’s teenager would be interested in. As she did a bit more research into the organization, Kristy was inspired to explore new volunteer opportunities. When asked what keeps her coming back to NHR she responded with, “No question, the kids keep me coming back. And I might secretly enjoy reading the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books along with my students.” (Don’t we all!) Kristy also stated, “What I love most about volunteering at NHR, is the mentor-like relationship.  I am not their mom or teacher – just another trusted adult who shows up for them.”

Kristy’s favorite books as a child were all of the Beverly Cleary, Nancy Drew, and Little House on the Prairie books. One of her all time favorites is Little Women.

Kristy shared an honest experience she had with a high school student of hers. He was reading different history pieces each week and sometimes wouldn’t know what a word meant. Kristy was stumped with trying to define it, so she took to Google. She emphasized that she will never pretend to have all answers, and that she is always learning too.

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Posted in Volunteer Spotlight

This summer New Haven Reads Summer Literacy Camp was full of learning and fun! With support from the Woman’s Seamen’s Friend’s Society of CT we were able to bring Mystic Aquarium to our Kindergarten and Pre-K camp five times this summer! Students learned about many aquatic animals including penguins, crabs, lobsters, snails, turtles and more. During each visit students learned about a specific animal and its habitat, while getting to touch various live animals! In addition, students brought home a brand new book each week that focused on a sea animal! 

When we were not enjoying visits from Mystic Aquarium our rising 1st graders worked on phonics, sight words, and comprehension each day, while focusing heavily on short vowels and decoding leveled text. While focusing on literacy, we also provided math instruction based on Common Core Kindergarten and 1st grade standards. We also included a variety of art projects and hands- on activities throughout the summer. 

Our rising Kindergarten camp ran on a shortened, age appropriate version of the morning schedule. Every day students enjoyed a story, letter of the day instruction, and an art project. 

This year we tested our campers in the beginning of camp to gauge their individual starting points and to tailor our instruction to their specific needs. In 5 short weeks, we saw improvement in 100% of our campers in one or more categories! Our rising first graders improved in letter recognition, phonetic spelling, short vowel sounds, consonant sounds, digraphs, and sight word knowledge. In addition, our rising first grade students collectively improved their score in phonetic spelling and short vowel sounds by more than 50%! 

66% of our rising kindergarten students made improvements in at least 6 of the following categories: letter identification, letter sounds, book knowledge, concepts of print, and beginning sounds. Collectively our rising kindergarten students improved their letter recognition, letter sounds, book knowledge, and concepts of print by more than 50%! 

Ultimately, campers had a great summer experience and learned so much! Our youngest students are ready for kindergarten and first grade this coming school year!

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Name: Blanca Tallaj
Hometown: Homewood, Alabama
College and Major: Yale University, Psychology Major and Education Studies Scholar
Tutoring Site: Willow St. (in-person), Dixwell (online), Science Park (online)
Clubs: Math Club and Arts & Crafts Club
Favorite Childhood Book: Matilda by Roald Dahl

When I hear people describing themselves as “self-made,” I think about everyone in their community that they are unconsciously leaving behind: family members who provided love and support, teachers who stayed with them after class until they finally understood the concept. I remember sitting next to my Kindergarten teacher as she taught me how to read. I can still feel the same surge of joy I felt when I sounded out a word all by myself. These are moments that I took for granted until I came to New Haven Reads.

This is why I feel so blessed to be a part of the organization. They understand the importance of community in helping a child learn and grow. I’ve witnessed my amazing coworkers go above and beyond for every single kid: combing through the library until they find a book that the child will like, handing out games for the kids to take home, communicating with parents in order to find solutions together, and making sure that every kid feels supported along the way.

I’ve been tutoring the same child on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the past four weeks. Our very first day together, I took the suggestion from my coworkers to play a word game with her. I would give her a word, and using the letters of that word, she would make as many new words as she could. For the first two weeks, this task was extremely difficult for her. She would find two new words before I stepped in to help her or give her hints and strategies. She quickly learned to break the word down, to find the smaller words hiding within the larger one (for example, the word “ear” hides inside of the word “spear”). The minute she sat down, she would reach for the whiteboard and tell me, “I want you to give me the hardest word you can find. I want it to be so long that it goes onto the next line.” And I would dutifully Google long words (“impediments” was too easy, she said, so I had to find longer ones) until two days ago, when I gave her the word “hippopotamus.” For the first time ever, she found over forty words in under fifteen minutes, with minimal help from me. I sat back and watched her put letters together, occasionally turning to me to ask whether or not the word she had made really existed. She was so proud of herself that she wouldn’t let me erase the whiteboard, and I took a picture of her list of words. I was so incredibly happy and proud. In just four weeks, she’s grown so much, and I am honored to be a part of her journey as a reader.

I am so grateful to the First Niagara Foundation in partnership with KeyBank for giving me the opportunity to interact with so many wonderful and brilliant children. I am also thankful to my coworkers at New Haven Reads who have created an incredibly collaborative environment and community. When I ask my fellow interns for help with Math Club, for example, I immediately receive an email with tips and lesson plans. I could not have asked for a better place to work this summer.

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Name: Hope McCormack
Hometown: Branford, CT
College and Major: Western Connecticut State University, Elementary Education
Tutoring Site: Dixwell, Bristol
Clubs: Math II, Arts and Crafts Club
Favorite Childhood Books: The Giving Tree, By: Shel Silverstein

I knew that I wanted to work with kids over the summer, so I started looking for jobs that involve working with kids. I had heard about New Haven Reads from a friend of mine, and thought this would be the perfect job for me. I applied for the job, and handed in my resume and letter. I awaited the response and when I finally I got the call that I got the job, I was was so excited! I knew that this would give me more experience in my field, and make up for lost time due to Covid

I am currently working with New Haven Reads this summer at the Bristol and Dixwell locations. I am a tutor and I run Math II and Arts and Crafts Club. I am learning how to format lesson plans, and adhere to my students individual needs. I have noticed that some students need more challenging problems in my Math II club than other kids. I adapt my lesson plans to accommodate the students individual needs. Breakout rooms have been very helpful for accommodating my students. I am able to work with one group of kids in one room, and another group of kids in another room. Being able to work with groups individually is very helpful for adhering to everyone’s needs. In my math club I have been doing multiplication and division practice with the kids. I decided to incorporate some other activities involving fractions, arrays, measurements, and money into our activities in order to engage my students. When teaching the students in my math club, the best feeling is when I explain something, and I see the “aha moments.” The students really enjoy using Prodigy. They also very much enjoy playing math Kahoot games as well! In my arts and crafts club we create fun and engaging activities for the kids to participate in. So far we have done slime, bowl knitting, paper plate faces, painting, and drawing. The best moments in arts and crafts club are seeing the students engaged and having fun with the activities we plan for them. One highlight from arts and crafts was when the kids were excited to paint the sea shells I collected for them! My tutoring experience with New Haven Reads has been amazing. Knowing that you are making an impact, and helping the kids improve in their skills is the best feeling!

For the short time I have worked at New Haven Reads, I noticed how friendly, supportive, and caring the staff is! Whenever I need help with my clubs or with tutoring, I am not afraid to ask because I feel that I am in a safe, supportive, and loving environment! I am sure that this is how the kids feel when they come in for clubs and tutoring as well! The kids have a loving, supportive environment to come into where they don’t have to be afraid to make mistakes or ask for help. Everyone is here to help!

I am so grateful that I was able to work with New Haven Reads this summer! Thank you to the First Niagara Foundation in partnership with KeyBank for giving me the opportunity to make a difference in these children’s lives, and for giving me an opportunity to practice my future field!

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Posted in Blog, Home Page

Thank you to the Arts Council of Greater New Haven and Julia Rosado for the article about how NHR was able to pivot to distance learning in March 2020 and welcome back students in-person this summer!

Read the article from the Arts Paper here.

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Staff members and volunteers strive to fulfill the mission of New Haven Reads by spreading the joy and power of reading every single day. The New Haven Reads Summer Lecture Series, which began last summer and continued this year, presents an opportunity for staff, volunteers, and attendees to consider this mission in a broader context of literacy access and equity. 

In our first lecture, “Three Ways of Looking at the Free Library,” New York City based architects David Leven and Stella Betts discussed the history and function of the free library: its role as a civic building and its impact on the community, how it is environmentally situated and architecturally structured, as well as the books and various programs and gatherings that are held within it. The two discussed the evolution of libraries from sites utilized primarily by the elite for collegiate purposes to multifaceted resources for entire communities, a shift that Betts referred to as a “radical transformation.”

This summer’s second lecture featured Dr. Julie Washington, a Professor in the School of Education at the University of California – Irvine who studies the intersection of literacy, language variation, and poverty. Her presentation, “Using Culturally Relevant Reading Materials to Promote Interest in Reading Among Underserved Students,” focused mainly on how educators and tutors can help bridge the gap in reading achievement among African American, Hispanic, and Native American students by using texts that resonate with their own experiences and identities. Washington briefly explains the idea of “Mirrors and Windows”: the incorporation of culturally relevant reading materials that students can identify with, but also allows them to “transport themselves into different worlds.”

Washington emphasizes the importance of getting to know your students, demonstrating respect for differences, and using diverse teaching resources, while also noting a scarcity of diversity in existing children’s literary characters. She strongly recommends “Maya’s Book Nook” as a resource to search for culturally relevant reading materials. 

We at New Haven Reads hope that the 2021 Lecture Series serves as an opportunity for all of us to learn more about the accessibility of free libraries, books, and other related programs, as well as the importance of incorporating culturally relevant reading

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