Hello, my name is Abigail and I am the new Willow Street Assistant Site Director! It has been a busy time here at the Willow Street location. Setting up for the summer session after this building had been empty since March 2020 was a huge undertaking but Carol and I are finally reaching the end of that long to-do list. Our first week back was consumed with creating learning packets for the students, sorting books, scheduling tutoring sessions, and finally, organizing the space to facilitate learning and comply with COVID-safety protocols.
The building was painted, light bulbs were replaced, and everything was cleaned- this was much needed after the space was vacant for a whole year and a half!
Shown is one of the new air purifiers set to filter away germs and allergens.
This summer, we are offering both in-house and online tutoring for students. Some families have chosen to stay remote for tutoring and we look forward to seeing these students’ faces online, wherever they are logging in from. NHR has instituted a new program called myON to help students find digital books tailored to their interests with much more ease. We have also simplified the number of activities to complete during the hour-long session in order to reduce any technical difficulties previously experienced by students. This way they can focus on the best part of NHR – reading with their tutors!
New books carefully selected by Carol for students to choose from when arriving during the first days of summer session.
As for the families who have chosen in-person tutoring, we are thrilled to finally see the kids! It will be so nice to get a little closer to the warm, fun, and dynamic tutoring atmosphere. The building will be filled with the buzz of students reading, laughing with their tutors, and playing choice-time games. All this will be happening through masks as people remain 6 feet apart from one another and air filters hum in the background. Additionally, thorough cleaning will happen in between sessions.
We are excited to start our summer session and to see students at New Haven Reads once again – both in-person and online!
