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Susan Anthony
Susan is a dedicated tutor who began volunteering last year at YES Reading's Horace Mann Reading Center. Earlier this year, she also began tutoring 4 students at the new Montague Reading Center. Students love to come and work with Susan, who listens intently to the students' stories, and is continually trying to help students make connections to the stories they read together. Her friendly nature, gentle demeanor, and knowledgeable instruction make for a winning combination at YES Reading!
1. Why did you become a volunteer with YES Reading? I chose to volunteer for the YES Reading Program for several reasons. As a former teacher, with Reading Literacy training, I wanted to combine these interests and skills with a desire to work with elementary students in my community. The program is a really good fit for me!
2. What do you enjoy most about your work with YES Reading and the students in the program?I really believe in the YES Reading program. The way it is set up allows students to improve their phonics and sight skills in a clear and incremental way. There is variety in each lesson, with a short intro and practice of a skill, learning of sight words, oral reading and some writing work. There is flexibility in the program which allows the volunteer to personalize the lesson a bit for each student. I see progress in each student's reading abilities over the course of the school year and in many of them I see increased confidence in their oral reading.The free choice reading at the beginning of each lesson is a very important part of YES Reading. I love to read books the students choose and I especially like it when they offer to read books to me! I believe this reading time motivates students to immerse themselves with books, whether in the classroom, library or home. Also, the free take home book program encourages students to keep reading outside of the classroom experiences.
3. Is there a particularly memorable student or experience from your time at YES Reading? I have had many fun experiences with the students I have worked with. Just recently I offered to return to a YES Reading site to work again with a girl I helped last year. When I went to the classroom to pick her up, she immediately recognized me and smiled! That moment was very special! I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to help her again this school year.
4. How has your work with YES Reading impacted you? Most of the students I work with are motivated learners who just need a boost in their reading abilities. They are enthusiastic about coming and participating in the program. They bring their personalities and that makes it fun and interesting! I get so much satisfaction from helping them improve their reading. I return home and share stories with my family about my work and I go back to schools eager to do more!
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Sue Buff
Sue began tutoring at Mariano Castro Elementary a little over a year ago. To ensure the success of her students, she has elected to tutor each of them 3 days a week. Jamie, a 5th grader, and Selena, a 3rd grader know how lucky they are to work with Sue. She has been a supportive and dedicated volunteer, committed to helping her students succeed. Sue's effectiveness with her students has helped them build their self-esteem and confidence in reading. This is what Sue had to say:
1. Why did you become a volunteer with YES Reading? I was previously involved with a mentoring program for at-risk youth and really enjoyed the experience helping children. I was looking for a similar opportunity that was education-oriented and came across YES Reading through the VolunteerMatch.org website. It sounded like a great program, so I signed up!
2. What do you enjoy most about your work with YES Reading & the students in the program? It's very rewarding to see the students become more confident and enthusiastic about reading as their reading skills and vocabulary improve over time. It's also fun to see their excitement as they discover new topics that catch their interest or a new series of books that they love to read, such as the A to Z Mysteries or the Junie B. Jones series. Also, the YES Reading staff is very supportive and dedicated and creates a comfortable environment for both the tutors and students.
3. Is there a particularly memorable student or experience from your time at YES Reading? One of the students I worked with last year was a 5th grader who especially enjoyed spelling and learning new vocabulary words. One week we learned the word "horizon" in one of the lessons and the next week he told me he came across it in another book he was reading and knew what it meant - "where the earth meets the sky." It was great for both of us to see how working on his vocabulary was improving his comprehension.
4. How has your work with YES Reading impacted you? I've really enjoyed working with YES Reading and look forward to continuing! The experience has definitely sparked my interest in other opportunities for helping children in the community, such as tutoring in math (I was a math major) and becoming a Child Advocate within the foster care system. |
