Skyline Literacy

The following is a monthly report from one of our tutors.  These successful tutor-student relationships are possible because of the time and effort donated by our volunteers.  We are grateful for their dedicated work and our tutors are especially appreciated by the students whose lives they touch.

Learner Hours and Progress Report

Tutor: Sally Smith* Learner: Maria Consuelos*

Report for months of Jan.& Feb., 09 Total Instructional Hours: 14

Day, time, place: Tuesdays or Thursdays, depending on Maria’s husband’s day off, 1:30 – 3:30pm (2-yr-old’s naptime).

Tutoring topics covered — these past two months Maria and I have been working together through her GED “practice” tests in:

1. English language — grammar, reading and writing process, including sentence diagramming.

2. Social Studies

3. Science

4. Vocabulary building in all these areas. Maria reads the tests aloud – the excerpts, and the questions pertaining to them — and we look up any unfamiliar words in both her English and her Spanish dictionary, noting parts of speech and any similarities to Spanish words. We also compare her answers with the answer sheets provided in the GED manual and, in the case of mistakes, figure out where we went wrong.

* The tutor’s and student’s names have been changed for confidentiality.

There is no picture that goes with this article. When I asked if we could take his picture, this basic literacy learner’s response was a resounding “no”!  Second language learners don’t usually mind having their pictures taken because there is no stigma attached to learning a second or third language; it’s considered quite an achievement.  However, imagine someone asking you, an American-born person who went through the local school system and whose native language is English, but who still lacks adequate reading and writing skills to advance in the workplace. This is usually something you don’t want people to know.

About six months ago I received a call from a mother who was encouraging her 23-year-old son to come to Skyline Literacy to see if we could help him improve his reading skills.  She pleaded with me over the phone to help him because she was at her wits’ end, working fulltime and responsible for reading and filling out forms for both her son and her husband. I met with the young man and we talked about his goals and why he wanted a tutor; he wanted to improve his reading so he could get a better job.  At the time he was working in the fast food industry.  He told me his story; at the age of 13 he dropped out of a local high school.  He had lost interest in school and felt his teacher didn’t really like him; besides, he liked hanging out with his cousins, who to this day can’t read very well either. Nelly Moreno Shenk administered a reading test and determined that he was at a 5th-grade reading level.  He met with the assigned tutor and they talked about when and where they could meet, what his goals were and how to reach those goals. Since then, he and his tutor meet faithfully two times a week at the Skyline Literacy office for a total of two hours.  When he comes he has a smile on his face and when he leaves he is still smiling. His tutor says that the biggest challenge is making sure he isn’t bored so she spends time looking for different ways to teach reading.

The most difficult thing for so many basic literacy learners is to remain hopeful and positive, and not give up. Skyline Literacy Tutors become mentors and encouragers in the tutoring process. They create a safe environment for sometime “fragile” students, enabling them to strengthen their reading and writing skills for an increased quality of life.

Beth E. Rodgers, Executive Director

At the January 17 and 28 training held at the Massanutten Regional Library, twenty-one participants learned about tutoring adults, teaching reading and writing, and teaching methods. These new tutors are already matched with basic literacy and English language students who have registered with Skyline Literacy and are waiting for their tutors.

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer tutor?  Call Skyline Literacy today at 540-433-0505 or visit our office at 975 South High Street in Harrisonburg.

Fourteenth Dinner and Auction raises thirty-eight thousand dollars for
Skyline Literacy.

Skyline Literacy’s first Dinner and Auction fundraiser took place 14 years ago at the  Green Valley Auction House, now Green Valley Auctions & Moving, Inc. Five thousand dollars were raised.
Since 1995, the amount raised has grown steadily, thanks to over 250 businesses that now donate to the silent and live auctions. Yearly in-kind donations from Green Valley Auctions & Moving Company, Good Printers, Artistic Florist, Miles and Morgan Framers,  Massanutten
Regional Library and the Round Hill Recorders greatly enhanced the event and drew approximately 350 auction goers to celebrate literacy in a festive and friendly atmosphere.