11/9/2009 7:31:00 AM Reading Corps tutors drawn to the job
READING TUTOR CORPS. Five members of the Minnesota Reading Corps paused for a photo Wednesday afternoon at Becker Primary School. The group are all AmeriCorps members who have committed to a year of service with the Minnesota Reading Corps, which began for them in August when they started their training. The group provides support for students who may not be reading up to grade level, and works with students in early Childhood Education and grades K-3. Shown, from left, are: Sandra Clemons and Kayla Carrigan, Primary School tutors, Tammy Bergsten, Early Childhood Education tutor, and Jan Berthiaume, Intermediate School tutor. Sandra Larson, also an Early Childhood tutor, was unavailable at the time the photo was taken. (Photos by David Hannula.)
By David Hannula Staff Writer
A strong desire to work with children, often mixed with some prior experience, is a common thread that emerges when the five Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) tutors now working in the Becker School District are asked why they have chosen to do the work they are currently doing.
The MRC program is a state-wide effort that matches trained AmeriCorps members, and community volunteers, with children from age three up to the third grade who may be having difficulties in reading at their grade level.
In the Becker School District, five MRC tutors are currently working with students at the aforementioned levels, supported by trainers and "internal coaches" who monitor progress and consult on the needs of individual student cases.
Tammy Bergsten and Sandra Larson are serving as tutors with the Becker Early Childhood Education program. Sandra Clemons and Kayla Carrigan are working with students at the Becker Primary School, and Jan Berthiaume, in her second year in the program, is working with 3rd Grade students at Becker Intermediate School.
Bergsten said she had worked as a teacher in a day care center prior to joining MRC, and noted that she has a particular affinity for working with very young children. She also noted that it was gratifying to "see them succeed" as Early Childhood students pass through the program on their way to higher reading abilities. Carrigan, a recent high school graduate, also has an affinity for working with young students, and is considering a career in education. She said that she was enjoying her MRC experience, and that it will give her hands-on classroom experience that will help in her career choice. She said she especially enjoys the "one-on-one" nature of being a tutor, seeing individual results go up in response to the work they are doing.
Clemons said that the position combined the best of both worlds for her, in that she loves reading and working with children. She has previous experience working in schools, she said, and she is relishing the benefits of working as a tutor. "I get paid in smiles," she said, noting the "excitement and energy" she finds in the classroom makes the day pass all too quickly. "There is not enough time in a day," she said of her current position.
Berthiaume, a former dental assistant, noted she had been a volunteer in schools before joining the MRC program, and felt that it was the next logical step for her to be in the classroom full-time. She said that the continuing relationships she has with students she worked with last year had been an added bonus, as their enthusiasm for reading has continued into this school this year. "Getting to watch their self-confidence grow," she said, "makes you feel that you are making a difference."
Sandra Larson, also an MRC tutor in the Early Childhood program, was unavailable at the time of the interview.
Tutors work with students in 20 minute sessions that take place outside of the regular core learning classes.
Caroline Olsen, the "internal coach" for the program in the Intermediate School, noted that MTC program is in its second year at her school, and she has seen very "positive results" in helping students get "back on track" in their reading progress. She cited the MRC program member's training as another positive factor, as is the use of testing programs like AIMSweb, which uses research data and test results to help define the level of intervention that will best serve student needs.
Primary School Principal Dale Christensen noted all students participate in "DIBBLS" program screening each year, which is used to set benchmarks for determining which students should be offered the chance to participate in the tutoring program. The data allows the staff to do frequent follow-ups with each student to ascertain their reading progress, he said, and to make changes as needed in the levels of intervention. The overall goal is to "bring them back (to reading proficiency) before they struggle too much," Christensen said.
According to information provided by Lacee Watkins, Primary School Internal Coach, the mission of the MRC is to provide trained personnel to work with kindergarten through 3rd Grade students on early literacy and reading skills using "research-based" techniques that target "phonic awareness, phonics and fluency."
The program is aimed at K-3 students who have scored "below target" on benchmark assessments, and who are not currently receiving Title 1 or special education services. Students in the Reading Corps program will normally receive 100 minutes each week of intervention service time, in daily sessions that last 20 minutes.
In the program, K-3 students receive one-minute "reading probes" each week, with results graphed to compare with a spring grade-level target score. If students are making adequate progress, scored will normally improve over time. Students who achieve four consecutive data points above their calculated aim-line are then "exited from the program.
Tutors normally meet with their coaches for 10 to 15 minutes each day, along with weekly meetings. Once each month, the internal coach, MRC members and master coaches meet to review all student graphs, and determine if any changes need to be made in the programs.
Minnesota Reading Corps is an AmeriCorps program that received funding from federal and state monies and from private donations.
