This spring our students have been busy sharing the joy and power of reading in new ways. Take a look at our video below to see for yourself!
Posts Tagged ‘tutors’
Here at New Haven Reads we want to share some data and testimonials about the IMPACT our tutors are making as volunteers with us!
Our volunteers continue to be the heart and soul of New Haven Reads. NHR tutors currently tutor a total of 454 hours with 279 students each week! Their impact is immeasurable. Enjoy this video of students expressing how much their tutors mean to them. Their smiles speak volumes!
Volunteers are the heart and soul of New Haven Reads! The month of April is Volunteer Appreciation Month. Although we celebrate you everyday, we are excited to have a whole month dedicated to celebrate YOU!
From all of us here at New Haven Reads, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!
Mary Connors, New Haven Reads’ literacy specialist, can be found every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. on Zoom with a room full of students, challenging them to think creatively, write beautifully, and share their finished written products with each other. For the second time, Mary is leading the Creative Writing Club. Even better, due to immense student interest, she’s leading two different sessions, one at Dixwell with older students and one at Willow Street with younger students.
Mary draws on a wealth of experience, having taught high school English and led an after-school Poetry Club before coming to New Haven Reads. Anyone who joined the Creative Writing Club for a day would not be surprised to learn about Mary’s background. It shows in her interactions with students, dedication to the process, and genuine interest in bringing out their best writing during every session.
She recently asked her younger students to write a two-person play. “They did a fabulous job. Being younger kids, I didn’t know they’d get rolling that quickly with their plays,” Mary said.
The students broke into groups of two after learning about the project, and they began with only 10 minutes left. Mary was surprised to discover that some kids had already completed their short skits by the end of the 10 minute period.
Most of all, though, she was just pleased that the students were enjoying themselves and improving their confidence in their writing in the Creative Writing Club.
Mary shared, “I wanted to bring in social interaction, and really, I wanted them to truly grow as writers, which requires consistent practice with lots of writing. That’s the main difference between the Creative Writing Club this spring versus the one in the summer.”
This summer was about giving the students an opportunity to express their feelings while they dealt with the unprecedented, compounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial tension. “During that time,” she said, “I wanted to give them a platform to express how they felt, as well as expose them to different genres.”
However, the spring Club is an opportunity to write. Mary summed it up nicely, saying, “The students write in the beginning, they write throughout, and they write in the end.”
Ryan Ritraj volunteers at the Dixwell site for New Haven Reads, and has been tutoring with them for four years. His sister taught him how to read as a boy, and he still remembers how it felt to start reading on his own. Ryan believes that reading is not only a fundamental and important skill, but can also be fun, and he really loves helping people realize this.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, Andrew excitedly logs into the Zoom tutoring session, oftentimes arriving ten minutes early. He lights the room up with a smile, and as tutors and students start trickling in, he excitedly
asks, “How is everyone’s day going?” He starts up brief conversations with a tutor — or sometimes a few different tutors at once — as he waits for the session to begin.
When he gets into the session, he is just as energetic and upbeat. Gene Kirsten, Andrew’s tutor, cherishes their time together. “He’s very bright, and his mind races in such a great way!” Gene shared. When Andrew plays Fast Find on Lexia, he does not just choose the right word as it quickly falls down the computer screen. Instead, Gene explained, “He challenges himself to quickly select the right word, and then to use it in a unique sentence, all before the next word appears.”
But Gene feels that discussing his diligence and studiousness is just scratching the surface. Above all, “He brings a lot of brightness to our sessions. He likes to help people — he is very accommodating, and he
likes to make everyone’s day a little better,” Gene said.
Reflecting on Andrew’s precocious nature, Carol Sarmiento, the Site Director at the Willow Street location, remembered a session from a few months ago. Andrew logged in a few minutes early, but he still was upset
he was not earlier. “Mom, I’m late! I’m late! I didn’t make it to New Haven Reads!” Andrew shouted. He calmed down immediately after realizing he was still on time. That moment, however, clearly displayed
his punctuality, consistency, and dedication to the program. “He’s always here on time, ready — and excited — to learn. He’s making progress everyday, while also bringing so much joy to our entire
program, students, tutors, and staff alike,” Carol remarked.
Robin has been tutoring with New Haven Reads for four years now, at Willow Street. She heard about NHR from a friend who is an author who had been tutoring for years and loved it. She decided that as soon as her schedule allowed, she would join as well, and she was able to in June of 2017. Robin was a regular classroom teacher who had struggled with supporting students who needed extra help in reading, and she found that NHR was a great program for just that! She loves the supportive and enthusiastic atmosphere of parents, tutors, and children collaborating together to provide the best experience possible for the children. In her own words, “Just walking through the door is an uplifting experience!”
Ilana K. has been tutoring for three years for New Haven Reads at Bristol Street. She had just moved to New Haven after finishing graduate school, and was looking for ways to give back to the community and meet people outside of work. Although she is a scientist by profession, reading has always been her true passion and she believes it is the foundation upon which so many successes are built. After driving past the Bristol Street location, and looking up NHR’s mission online, she found that it was like a match made in heaven! She loves the fact that she gets to share her passion of reading with children while also helping them gain important life skills. There is no one particular reason that Ilana keeps coming back to NHR- she loves all of it! She loves the relationships she can build with the children, as well as hearing about their weeks, sharing in their triumphs, and the amazing staff! The times she tutors are truly the highlight of her week, and she loves that NHR allows her to pursue her dream of sharing literacy skills with the next generation.
We want to say THANK You to our volunteers!
April is National Volunteer month and our NHR team made a video for our volunteers to thank them for all they do! With out them our program wouldn’t be possible, they are the heart and soul of our program! Click here to watch the video!
