Archive for the ‘Tutoring Program’ Category

Here at NHR, June Recess just ended and the six-week Summer Session is underway. Although programs continue moving forward, we want to take these two weeks to focus on some of the highlights from the 2018-2019 school year. First up: student feedback and test results!

The CORE Test

Each year we measure the efficacy of the tutoring program through the Consortium on Reading Excellence (CORE) test, which measures three areas of literacy: phonics, high-frequency words, and independent reading level. All 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade student test twice a year, and NHR staff work with volunteers and parents to individualize skills practice based off of the results.

Key Results:

146 students took the test

100% of students tested improved in at least one area of reading

94% improved their phonics score

70% improved their high-frequency word score

72% increased their independent reading level by at least one grade level

27% increased their independent reading level by two or more grade levels

29% of students improved in every area

In addition to these results, each 2nd and 3rd grade student gets tested on reading comprehension. This year, 78% of them improved their score!

The Student Survey:

Although the CORE test results provide staff with valuable information, each year we also conduct a student survey in order to understand how our students feel about tutoring. This year, 375 students filled out the survey. Of those 375, 85% said that NHR has helped them be a better reader, and 91% said that they feel welcome at NHR.

In Their Own Words:

The best part about New Haven Reads is… “Just coming and feeling like it’s family.”

The best part about New Haven Reads is… “I feel like I am safe here.”

I tell my friends that: “New Haven Reads is awesome. It helps kids learn and it’s fun. What you do in Lexia and reading, and workbook makes you proud.”

I tell my friends that: “It’s the best place ever…New Haven Reads helps a lot of my friends, and I thank New Haven Reads. It’s the best place ever to learn.”

If you had to describe New Haven Reads in one word, what would it be? “Excellent (I love it. I love it. I love it.) 😉”

Our students’ experiences and accomplishments mean everything to us. As the summer begins, we thank all of the dedicated volunteers and parents who supported the students this year, and we congratulate our readers even more for all their hard work and improvement!

Posted in Blog, Survey, Tutoring Program

Check out our latest video! It features four of our graduating seniors: Magaly, Deon, Jeffrey, and Jordan!

Posted in Blog, Home Page, Tutoring Program

There will be no tutoring or Pre-K/Kindergarten classes from Monday, April 15 through Saturday, April 20. The Book Bank will be open Monday, April 15 to Friday, April 19 from 12:00PM to 4:00PM. We will resume normal hours and programming on Monday, April 22.

Posted in Book Bank, Tutoring Program

This is a guest post from Franziska Lee, one of our volunteer tutors. Franziska is a student at Hamden High / ECA Creative Writing.

“Hey,” Sukeyna says, sliding into the seat next to me. I just barely see her before I hear her, a blur of bright pink puffy jacket in my peripheral vision. I started tutoring Sukeyna in September 2018, and she never fails to remind me of a sandpiper—tiny and bright-eyed, a perpetual whirlwind of energy, giggles, sharp elbows, and occasional obstinacy.

Usually we start our sessions with Sukeyna’s vocabulary book. Back in autumn we noticed that, more than anything else, she had trouble understanding the English meaning of words. Sukeyna speaks Turkish at home, and she has to constantly translate between the two languages. Carol, the site director for New Haven Reads’ Willow Street location, helped her make a paper booklet and gave her decks of vocab cards to go through. When we find a card with a word she doesn’t know, Sukeyna tapes it into her book and writes down a sample sentence. Her English vocabulary expands, and she gets to do something tactile, which she enjoys. Mostly Sukeyna likes flipping through the cards at lightning speed, going through to find all the ones with animals.

Sukeyna likes Uno and candy and making me get oranges for her, but she loves animals, especially sea creatures. Besides the Elephant & Piggie series, the books she gravitates towards most are from National Geographic. She adores the glossy photographs and the interesting facts, loves learning what penguins eat and where manta rays migrate. Her favorite animal is the narwhal, because it’s unicorn-adjacent and underwater. A few months ago, I got her a stuffed narwhal—a bright blue ball of fluff with giant eyes—and she couldn’t stop smiling. Currently, she has three—“One from you, one from Carol, and one I got myself,” she tells me. Carol finds a lot of books on narwhals, whales, and the ocean for Sukeyna, and even on days when she’s tired, her passion can motivate her to pay attention. When she’s genuinely excited and interested in something, her dedication is astounding.

Just in the months I’ve known her, I’ve watched Sukeyna’s reading and focus develop so much. She does her work with more and more care, and even when faced with a more tedious activity, she can do it efficiently. Part of that is how adaptive New Haven Reads has been to her interests and needs. Part of it is Sukeyna herself—her vivacity and excitement and sheer will. I’m grateful to watch her grow. Every Thursday, the hour I work with Sukeyna is a highlight, a glowing point of refuge.

Franziska works with Sukeyna at NHR’s Willow St location.

Posted in Blog, Tutoring Program

February Recess begins on Monday, February 18 and ends on Saturday, February 23. During this time there will be NO tutoring and the Book Bank will have shorter hours. New Haven Reads will resume normal hours on Monday, February 25.

Posted in Book Bank, Tutoring Program

When you walk through the doors of any New Haven Reads location, the whole operation seems to run like a choreographed dance or meticulously rehearsed play. Tutors and students work in pairs while the site directors distribute snacks and stand ready to help. Parents chat while they wait for the end of the hour, and the occasional teacher comes in to select books. All are able to enjoy afternoons at New Haven Reads because, just like a dance or theater performance, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes.

Much of that work on the volunteer side is handled by Keri Humphries, our Outreach Director extraordinaire. When she joined New Haven Reads in 2012, volunteer recruitment relied on word of mouth and the Bristol St Site Director doubled as the volunteer coordinator. Needless to say, this process couldn’t keep up with demand, and Keri quickly started to build the volunteer program from the ground up.

Keri responds to email from her desk at the Book Bank location.

The first change she made was to handle all volunteer intakes. She formalized the process, improved response time, and began building community partnerships to build the pipeline. Seven years later, Keri’s efforts have contributed to a significant reduction of the waitlist and she now manages two Outreach Assistants who help with intakes. Despite their hours, Keri is still the nearly-universal port into volunteering at NHR. During a typical day she responds to volunteer applications and processes paperwork in the morning. Then, in the afternoon she interviews potential volunteers – four to six a day during the busiest times of year! That may sound like a lot, but Keri says that meeting members of the community is her favorite part of the job.

Her work, of course, extends far beyond volunteer interviews and orientations. During her tenure Keri has overseen NHR’s move from “an Excel sheet with 900 names in it” to an actual volunteer database, which she calls her “pet project.” Additionally, she initiated an annual volunteer survey. Feedback from those surveys directly inspired her efforts to strategically expand tutor trainings, as well as to provide opportunities for connection through site socials and book club meetings.

Keri gives a new volunteer orientation.

Despite all of the ways she’s grown NHR’s volunteer program, the most difficult part of Keri’s job is the constant need for more tutors. Every time a parent signs their child up for the waitlist – which currently has 112 students – that’s another tutor Keri has to recruit and train. It’s a natural result of NHR’s growth and the high need for literacy support in local communities. Nevertheless, she remains indefatigable in her efforts. After all, each new tutor means that one more child can come off of the waitlist, and that’s what it’s all about.

For more information about volunteering at NHR, please click here.

Posted in Blog, Tutoring Program

We hope you enjoy these photos from the tutoring program’s new book giveaway! A huge thank you to Barnes & Noble in Milford and Abrams Books for their support of the tutoring program’s book giveaway!