“Jacob’s enthusiasm for reading has clearly increased and he feels more comfortable tackling new words and books. Working with him consistently five days a week has also helped to maintain momentum.” -Reading Fellows MTC Volunteer
Last spring, MTC partnered with the Los Altos School District (LASD) to pilot a new interventional reading program that matches tutors with students who are struggling to learn to read. This intensive program provides a very structured format for tutoring in which the tutor meets daily with their student (4 days/week) for 30-minute sessions for a period of six weeks. The sessions follow the same format each day with variation of reading materials centered on student interests.
Reading Fellows originated from Teachers College at Columbia University and has proven to be impactful for students and rewarding for tutors. In most cases, our pilot tutors continued beyond the six weeks with their students since both tutor and student were enjoying the experience and seeing student progress and potential.
The program relies on consistency and frequency to build a strong relationship between the tutor and student. Because the program content follows a structured formula, tutors receive additional training and are provided with continued support from both MTC and LASD administrators.
LASD conducted a survey based on the pilot program, and of the ten survey participants, nine students advanced their reading level through the Reading Fellows intervention. Based on the success of the pilot program, we are thrilled to be matching new Reading Fellows volunteers this year as we officially launch and expand the program to support more students.
If you are interested in being a volunteer with Reading Fellows, please consider attending our next Volunteer Information Session or reaching out to Christy Flahavan at christy.flahavan@mentortutorconnection.org.