After retiring from twenty years as a second-grade teacher, Stacy Hall is finding new ways to use her love for teaching at B5. The teachers in B5’s adult program have been exploring how to help their students who struggle with reading. Many of them never learned to read their native language, or have some reading skills, but not with a Roman alphabet. Now, Stacy’s experience teaching beginning readers is helping B5 support these adult learners. “Teaching reading is a passion of mine. I loved teaching my second graders and I think what I learned in the classroom can be applied to adult students,” says Stacy.
Working with Jenni Alexander, Director of LEP Teaching and Learning, they decided to start small. They want to add small group tutoring into the program and are building the capacity for it. Stacy says the focus on small groups merges her passion for teaching reading and helping B5. Much of the work is to create a system that teaches volunteers how to work with small groups or with individual students. This provides continuity from volunteer to volunteer and ensures that students progress towards their goals while working with multiple people.
Stacy works with two students currently. They leave the classroom for twenty to thirty minutes and have personalized reading instruction. Right now she works with each student once a week. Ideally, each student will receive tutoring multiple times a week. The goal is to create a seamless system in which a second volunteer can come in and continue where the previous volunteer left off. When all volunteers receive the same training, they teach in a consistent manner and students learn better.
Jenni and Stacy have also met with staff from the Children’s Reading Foundation to explore how to tailor the Team Read program to fit B5’s adult program. “The goal is to make it easy for volunteers to know what lesson to teach, how to teach it, and make the biggest impact on the adults they’re working with in the short amount of time they are working with them,” Stacy says. Ideas from Team Read and resources from Literacy Minnesota and the University of Florida’s UFLI program are all being used to shape this new program.
“I’m excited to do this, it’s nice to help in a small way. We know that literacy unlocks the door to jobs, better access to healthcare, and gives them more opportunities to participate in the community. The students are dedicated to learning to read and it’s exciting to work with them.” The program hopes to be ready for volunteers early in the new year. For anyone looking for a way to make a meaningful difference in someone’s life, considering becoming a volunteer adult reading tutor at B5.
