Tutor Eau Claire! Philosophy and Practice

Tutor Eau Claire! believes that all children can succeed academically if they are given the support and guidance they need. Tutor Eau Claire! serves the Eau Claire community of Columbia, South Carolina, in three ways:

1. placing volunteer tutors in the public schools

2. operating neighborhood homework centers

3. providing summer activities for children

I. The Volunteer Tutor program

Tutor Eau Claire! believes that committed volunteer tutors can make a difference by providing one-on-one attention to the specific problems facing a student. The tutor can help a child understand a concept that he may have missed in classroom presentation, or reinforce what has been taught in the classroom by offering extra practice. The tutor also serves as a role model, showing a child how to do things successfully, and encouraging their efforts, much like a parent does with a young child. This role modeling offers support for the young learner as he watches, then practices what the tutor shows him.

Our volunteer tutoring program depends on a few important factors: a committed volunteer to coordinate the program, access to nearby college campuses/community groups/ businesses to recruit volunteer tutors, and access to e-mail for communicating with tutors and schools. We also maintain a page on a benefactor’s web site. The coordinator (or other designated person) is also responsible for tutor orientation and training.

The coordinator The coordinator recruits tutors for the program from the Columbia community at large, by various means. The new recruit fills out an enrollment form, noting the hours s/he is available to tutor and the subject s/he would like to tutor (math, reading). The tutor is then trained and given orientation information about Richland One schools. Meanwhile, the TEC coordinator notifies the school’s volunteer coordinator of the available tutor and matches the volunteer’s preferences with teachers’ needs to make the best possible match. Then the tutor is notified of the available tutoring position by e-mail. When the tutor confirms his availability for the chosen time, the school is notified by e-mail or FAX when the tutor can begin. A Tutor Eau Claire! volunteer goes to the school to meet the tutor on the first day, and introduce him/her to the volunteer coordinator and teacher he will be helping. The coordinator sends tutors birthday cards, checks up on new tutors to see how they are doing, communicates with schools and tutors as needed, and coordinates tutor appreciation activities at various times during the school year.

The web site – The web site contains tutor enrollment forms, a list of tutoring times available, school addresses, school district calendar, our mission statement, philosophy and practice summary, and tutoring tips and other tutor resources available, such as web sites and books.

Tutor Orientation- An orientation session is required by the school district for all volunteers. This session provides volunteers with basic information about school rules and district policy. Tutor Eau Claire! also uses this time to help tutors understand how to motivate discouraged students, how to relate to those of different ethnic backgrounds, and how to keep records of their tutoring sessions for evaluation purposes.

Tutor Training - Specific areas of tutor training in reading and math will be handled at this time, and in follow-up sessions, called “Tutor Tune-Ups.” Some tutors want regular support meetings to share triumphs, problems, and to help improve tutor skills. A good time to get this support is to attend a Tutor Tune-Up session. Tutors may always e-mail us at any time for feedback about things that concern them.

II. The Homework Centers

Tutor Eau Claire! believes that children need a firm, loving “parent” to supervise their after school hours. The purpose of the neighborhood homework centers is to provide a surrogate parent for the children to come “home” to after school. TEC’s centers operate out of homes, with a director and assistant aat each site, supervising a small group of children (8-10). One homework center runs with a volunteer director and a paid assistant. The other center has a paid director and paid assistant. Volunteers are also welcome. Funding for the paid positions comes from grants. Parents in our neighborhood are not charged to have their children participate in the homework centers. Since a grandparent usually lives nearby to offer free childcare, most parents will not pay for homework help. However, the children daily come to the homework center rather than go to the grandparents’ house because ‘it’s fun here.’ Often the grandparent’s home does not provide the nurturing, safe environment that the children crave.

The homework center day: When the children first arrive, they are greeted warmly and given a chance to tell about their day and have a snack as they settle down to do their homework. After homework is done, reading time is mandatory (~15-20 minutes). After that, games, cooking, crafts, sports and computer time are available. The emphasis at the homework centers is on creating a loving environment that is fun, educational and well disciplined. Rules are few, spelled out clearly, and enforced consistently. Once the children know what is expected and see that the rules are enforced fairly, they are, generally, cooperative. Praising the children for good behavior and thoughtful acts is critical; it motivates others to strive for similar praise. We find that isolation or suspension from the homework center is an extremely effective consequence for misbehavior, since the one who misbehaves ends up separated from friends. Occasionally, the whole group is disciplined because of the misdeed of one, which creates a great deal of constructive peer pressure. We also try to involve parents as much as possible. We confer with parents frequently and develop joint strategies for dealing with specific goals and problems.

To help a child with reading (K-3^rd grade levels), we ask the child to pick out and read a book from a set of Rolling Reader books that are graded into twelve levels representing first through third grades. If the book the child picks seems too hard for them, we guide them to a lower level. The object is to have the child experience success by starting with books that are easy for him. If the child cannot read at all, we start them with alphabet recognition, followed by the introduction of the Bob Books, where letter sounds are introduced gradually in simple, witty stories. We have found that many of the children are discouraged about reading, and need to experience success with simple materials before attempting more challenging material. A successful methodology has been the Rolling Reader format:

Prepare the child for new reading material.

Pause 5 seconds before prompting.

Prompt appropriately and positively.

Praise for partially correct answers.

Probe for understanding of what was read.

Once children are reading confidently, we gradually move them to higher levels. We build a firm foundation at each level before moving on so that children are continually experiencing success. We find success to be the most important factor in motivating a child to read (although a reward of a small piece of candy is a great secondary motivator). The Literacy Volunteers of America handbook, Help A Child Learn to Read is a great resource for reading tutors.

To help a child with math, we reinforce their addition, subtraction, and multiplication facts. We find that most of the problems that elementary and middle school children have with math stem from a weak foundation in these basic math skills. We start with counting tokens to help the children visualize addition and subtraction concepts. Later, an abacus, or counting cubes, etc., are useful to portray the concept of multiplication. We use flash cards, math games, computer games, songs, and even a marvelous electronic device called the Math Shark, available at educational supply stores. The idea is to make math visual, relevant to their daily lives, and fun. As they experience success through supported learning, the children become confident. Once they are confident and quick with their math facts, it is relatively easy to teach them new math concepts.

Character development and spiritual growth - Tutor Eau Claire! believes that character development and spiritual growth are essential factors in developing confidence and purpose in children’s lives. Latchkey children basically raise them selves; they do not receive from parents the constant modeling that instructs them in good manners, respect for authority and responsible behavior. To address this problem, the homework centers provide Bible study to ground the children in basic morals, ethics and purpose. We want them to know that their character matters, that it is important to care about others, and that God has a special purpose for each of their lives. The staff members of the centers are careful to model godly behavior and wisdom so that the children can experience tangibly what a loving, purpose-driven, disciplined home environment feels like. We also are careful to keep our promises and to correct misbehavior promptly, so that the children learn to trust that we mean what we say and say what we mean. We also make every effort to be fair and kind.

Field Trips, Visitors and Special Activities - Children who live in lower socioeconomic levels are not often exposed to things outside of their small community setting. In order to expand their horizons, our homework centers provide field trips and/or invite visitors twice a month. We also put on puppet shows, make Christmas presents and celebrate the children’s birthdays. Sometimes we invite another group to join us in these activities; when possible, we invite the parents.

III. Summer Activities

Summer Learning Adventure - For three summers Tutor Eau Claire! ran a five-week, half-day summer program called The Summer Learning Adventure. This program was open to children after their summer school day was over, and offered children a safe, fun place to be where we practiced reading and math, did arts and crafts, cooked daily, and did carpentry projects. Many of the activities gave children practical everyday encounters with reading and math. This program was fun for the children, but required massive funding for trained teachers and aides at the multiple sites. Even with parents paying only ten dollars/week/child, we had trouble getting some families to contribute their part.

Summer Camp - Last summer we received scholarship money from the school district mentoring program and from a Christian group to sponsor kids to go to Bethel Christian Camp, nearby. We sent nine children to camp for one week each. They had such a wonderful time, that a full six months later they were still talking about it, dreaming about going the next summer. Families also were very eager to send their children to camp. As one mother said, “I’ve always wanted them to have that experience, something to talk about when they go back to school in the fall, like the other kids.” Most families were able to provide some money for their children, even if it was only enough for their canteen money (~$10).

2002 Tutor Eau Claire! Summer Discovery Center - This year we will not run the Summer Learning Adventure because of tight funding resources. Instead, we will keep only the Monticello center open on weekday afternoons. Children will have a safe place to come for reading, computer time, games, arts and crafts, and off-campus activities. We have raised funds to send as many children as possible to camp, swimming lessons, art, gymnastics, and ballet lessons, etc. We have received funding from the City of Columbia for a director and assistant to coordinate activities, transportation, etc. Funding also covers supplies and some activity fees. Funds for swimming lessons came from a private donor, funds for camp came from individuals and a church conference. Volunteers have come forward to assist in many ways.

If you would like to volunteer, please call Tracey Ely, Director, at 252-5051, or Dawn Betenbaugh, our Discovery Center Coordinator, at 256-0724.

Donations may be sent to Tutor Eau Claire! c/o Mr. Henry Hopkins, The Eau Claire Community Council, P.O. Box 3431, Eau Claire Station, Columbia, SC 29230-3431.