November 2011:
Deniesha Smith-Bufford &
Caitlin Charette
Student & Tutor Pair of the Month
Caitlin has also never missed a tutorial session. Her singular dedication to her student reflects a commitment to her personal goal of becoming a middle school History teacher. Through Tutors for All, Caitlin is gaining hands-on experience in the education sector even though she is only a freshman. "I have learned to interact with a student in a one-on-one setting," she says. Caitlin is also becoming familiar with the pleasure of witnessing firsthand the ah-ha moments with students, such as when Deniesha "finally gets a concept and a huge smile appears on her face." Finally, Caitlin is discovering the joy that is unique to one-on-one tutoring. "Deniesha always makes me laugh when we play multiplication war," says Caitlin. "She gets really competitive and talks about answering multiplication problems faster than me." Tutors for All is building the strength and confidence of students and the leadership of young educators.
A look back at the month of November gives us a chance to shine a light on another exemplary student and tutor pair. Deniesha Smith-Bufford, a 6th-grade student at Young Achievers Science and Math Pilot School, and Caitlin Charette, a freshman at Emmanuel College, have grabbed the attention of Tutors for All staff. This is not only because they are a model for how students and tutors should work together, but also because they have demonstrated the tangible benefits of tutorial.
Although Deniesha is a veteran of the Tutors for All summer program at Young Achievers, she still felt anxious going into the fall semester. Deniesha explained that before getting to know Caitlin, she was afraid her new tutor "was going to be mean... I felt kinda nervous." However, Deniesha's behavior in tutorial certainly did not betray these initial apprehensions. Rather, her performance reflects how she and Caitlin have worked well together.
Deniesha has maintained a perfect attendance record this semester, and her Show What You Know assessments indicate an outstanding 21.43% growth rate in her math skills. The words of Denieshas tutor speak just as loudly as these facts: "Deniesha works very hard during every tutoring session," says Caitlin. "She brings a positive attitude and shows up early." Program Manager Aimee Mott echoes this positive sentiment about Denieshas attitude, "Shes never even tardy!"
We hope Caitlin’s experience will serve her well in her future career, and we congratulate Denisha on her accomplishments this semester!
October 2011:
Michael Berthaud & Ruben Raskin
Ruben's description of what it has been like to work with Michael reflects his student's ambitious attitude: "With Michael being so advanced, he's taught me new tricks and old tricks that I've forgotten about math. He ends up teaching me some of the time by jumping ahead, which is an amazing feeling to see your student not just master material, but apply it in front of your very eyes." Mr. Raskin says that what he likes most about tutoring is "sitting down with Michael every tutorial and getting to apply real-life situations to the math topics we're covering. We've used biology, climbing mountains, making movies, and all sorts of situations, which makes the tutorial much more fun."
Michael and Ruben have indeed found space for fun and laughter amidst their hard work. "Michael brings humor and a good attitude to every tutorial," says Ruben. "He manages to joke about whatever topic we're on, and I leave every session with a smile on my face. When asked to talk about his tutor, Michael responded, "He is really funny and has an awesome beard."
Ruben added some final words about Michael's determination, his good humor, and what he hopes to accomplish with his education: "On the very first day of tutorial, Michael expressed his dream of following in his father's footsteps and becoming an engineer. I have no doubt in my mind, based on his hard work and positive attitude, that Michael will be able to achieve his goal."
Michael Berthaud is a sixth grade student at Maurice Tobin Elementary school in Mission Hill. His tutor Mr. Ruben Raskin, a senior at Emerson College, studies writing for television and film. For a little over a month, Michael and Ruben have been meeting twice a week to work on Michael's basic mathematics skills. Already Michael has made significant progress. He has passed into the advanced level curriculum and scored 20% higher on his second Show What You Know assessment than on his first. The fact that he has shown such improvement with only three and a half weeks of instruction attests to his tutor's leadership. Also, both Michael and Ruben have perfect attendance records. In light of their shared success, we asked them to talk about their experience together.
Michael talked about the topics he and Ruben have touched upon in tutorial. "I've learned about two-variable equations," he says. "I have also learned about discounts with percents." When asked what he enjoys most about tutorial, Michael elaborates, "I really like doing those two-variable equations and being able to do it by myself. I wanna be the best at those and do it alone."
Congratulations to Michael Berthaud and Ruben Raskin on their hard work and achievements so far!
During the third annual Celebration of Service, Governor Deval Patrick thanked members of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Corps, a program that has served tens of thousands of Massachusetts residents since its inception in 2008. Among those honored was Deejay Robinson, one of our rock-star tutors serving at Codman Academy (Check out the video to your left to hear the Governor's remarks about Deejay).Speaking about his experience with Tutors for All and one of his students, Christie, Deejay shared valuable lessons he learned serving in our Codman Academy program.
"Codman Academy and Tutors for All, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Commonwealth Corps, have provided me with an opportunity to serve. My service to the State and to its youth has reaffirmed my passion to be an educator. Christies willingness to stick with tutorial and to trust my approach to education as a discovery process for student and teacher provided me with the ground-work into further research of the implications of inquiry and discovery in urban education. "
Congratulations Deejay! Tutors for All is grateful for your service and looks forward to what amazing work you will engage in next!
March 2010:
Victoria Cole & Stephanie Carlisle
On any given day, Victoria can be seen, pencil in hand, working diligently to combine letters into words and words into proper sentences. When reading, she may furl her brow at a certain word, but she'll sound out each letter until she gets it right. Recently, they've been working on "sight words". These are words that a reader will know automatically (ie: the, when, other), and are a necessary bridge to becoming a fluid reader. Each sight word is written out on a note-card and together they work through a stack. For each sight word Victoria gets correct she colors in a big star in her tutorial journal, which Ms. Carlisle has drawn in prior to the start of the session. This opportunity to combine academics with coloring is only the start.
"One fun activity that we have done is the 'Make Your Own Mad-Libs' book. Victoria gets to customize the story by filling in the blanks and illustrating the pages herself. When we finish, she gets to take the books home to read with her family. This has been a great way to practice identifying and writing the letter combinations that we are learning, and the final product is a book that she can be proud of."
Just because the students are small, doesn't mean the hurdles are any smaller. Stephanie Carlisle, a graduate student working toward a masters in Teaching at Boston College, knows this. Twice a week she comes to Conservatory Lab Charter School in Brighton to work on basic-skills literacy with first grader Victoria Cole. Victoria is an amiable child and a willing student; the kind of student that any teacher would love. But, not unlike many of her peers throughout the public school system, she lacks the necessary tools to be a competent reader and perform at grade level. For the past two month, Ms. Carlisle has been working to get her there.
"The thing that stands out the most about Victoria is her positive attitude. She rarely turns down a challenge; in her writing assignments, she would rather write words that are difficult for her to spell than change her creative ideas to make the work easier. Her hard work is paying off, too - in the weeks that we've been working together, Victoria's reading and writing have come a long way."
Congratulations to Victoria Cole and Stephanie Carlisle
for their hard work and achievements!
February 2010:
Deja Jacobs & Natashia Thomas
This is what Natashia had to say about working with Deja:
"Deja and I have worked together since September 2009. Over the past six months we've tackled negative integers, mean, median, mode, range, strengthening skills to solve basic mathematics using the four major functions, along with conversions of fractions, decimals and percents. After focusing each session on her weakness and incorporating her interests, it became clear that Deja had a better understanding of the material presented. She has begun to master most of the topics in each session. Deja's greatest achievement throughout the six month period was scoring approximately 20 points higher on her last Show What You Know assessment, which was a tremendous improvement. Essentially, Deja is an amazing student who tries hard and it shows, especially through the improvements she has made on each Show What You Know."
Deja Jacobs is an 8th grade student at Smith Leadership Academy in Fields Corner, Dorchester. Twice a week Deja meets with Ms. Natashia Thomas to work on basic-skills mathematics. We asked them both to write a little bit about their experience together. This is what Deja had to say:
"My tutor Ms. Thomas is great. Out of all the tutors we had she's the most interactive and actually wants to help me. I like when Natashia knows that I don't get something, and I also like how when she comes in to tutorial she always has a smile on her face.
Recently I've been working on percentages, converting fractions and working on negative numbers. We also have been working on review like multiplying decimals and using mean, median, mode. These are helping me in math... I would recommend tutorial for my friends that need it because you get paired with someone who cares about your education and wants to help you. Basically, this is how tutorial has been helpful and improved my math skills."
Natashia, a senior studying Business Management at Simmons College, has always found time to help in her community. A Brockton native, she tutored her peers in math at her high school. Before joining TfA, she worked in a Dorchester community center. "She's got a 'let's get this done' attitude that really motivates her student and her tutors," says Smith Leadership Academy Program Manager Christopher Baginski. "Always on time, always professional, and all-business, I'm thankful to have her working with us."
Congratulations to Deja Jacobs and Natashia Thomas
The lesser-known side of our program is the affect it has on our tutors. Often, they'll leave a session having learned something of their own. Patrick, a senior at Emmanuel College and a veteran tutor in our program, had this to say:
"I like having the opportunity to work one-on-one with a student. Every session is not perfect, but I have learned what works for my student and I can see that I am making a difference. My student has a personality that can light up a room. She is quite extroverted and persistent when speaking, The combination of these attributes makes me smile often. ...The best way for my student to produce great work is when she is comfortable in her setting. It is important and possible for her to be herself while maintaining a professional demeanor. Not only has she improved drastically in her reading comprehension skills, I feel that she has matured greatly as a person. It was a pleasure to be her tutor."
December 2009:
Kadeeja Davis & Patrick Welton
Kadeeja Davis is a tenth grade student at Community Charter School of Cambridge. Twice a week Kadeeja meets with Mr. Welton to work on her reading comprehension and composition writing skills. We asked them both to write a little bit about their experience. This is what Kadeeja had to say:
"In the tutoring program the tutors are very nice, they sit down and work with you on your work and actually help you out. I learned how to start writing down vocabulary words that I did not understand and define them. Also they helped me learn different ways of understanding an article; I can reread the paragraph over again and once again define words. While in the tutoring program I have noticed that my writing skills have improved so much compared to when I started the program. I have been learning a lot about myself and the way I always second guess myself.
"My tutor is so nice, he makes me laugh and smile when I have down days... My tutor is the best tutor ever. He never yells or gets frustrated when I ask a lot of questions. He seems very interested in what I have to say.
Congratulations to Kadeeja Davis & Patrick Welton
for their hard work and persistence!
If I can do the program all over I would not change one thing about it. These moments will forever be with me."
A Tutor Reflects...
better with my student to have a more productive tutoring session. Because of the variety of activities, I find my student also stays focused and engaged, so that before you know it, it is time to go.
This semester my student and I have been working on writing well-developed essays in preparation for the 10th grade MCAS. At the start of the program, my student and I would read aloud and attempt to discuss the passage. However, I found my student to continually be at a loss of words. When I gave her writing prompts, I found her sitting there for long periods of time producing a couple of disjointed sentences. Throughout the semester I worked on inspiring my student to think creatively about interpretation which helped to give her the confidence to speak her mind. I found myself taking ideas from other tutors at training sessions and implementing them in my lesson plans. For example my fellow tutor gave me a great idea he had been using with his student. His idea of making the student come up with three main arguments to a writing prompt in the five minute Do Now at the beginning of the class was a success with my student. After my student took her Writing MCAS, she came into tutoring talking about her essay with satisfaction written on her face. Looking back at the beginning of the program, I am so proud of the gains my student has made. She now not only articulates her thoughts better, but is able to write a well-developed introduction.
Three days a week Tutors for All teaches and inspires students at City on a Hill High School. However, the secondary students are not the only ones being taught and inspired. The college student tutors are gaining just as much in the three tutoring days. I have worked at different tutoring jobs around the Boston area, and Tutors for All has been the most successful and productive program with which I have worked. Tutors for All provides on-target training, efficient lesson plans, and an open and friendly environment while maintaining a high standard of professionalism. Tutoring my student is consistently a high point in my day due to the productive structure and continual progress of my student.
Before the program started, Mark Destler provided extensive and on-target training for the tutors that allowed us to be prepared and ready for any challenge. In addition to orientation training, the weekly training sessions keep us organized and refocus us on our goals with our students.
Training sessions are filled with professional training from Mr. Destler along with group activities where we work together to discuss problem areas with students and bounce ideas off each other to find a solution. This has successfully built a camaraderie between tutors. In my free time at work, I find myself updating fellow tutors on my students progress and hearing new ideas and news from other tutors.
On my way to work, I take the bus with worries on my mind of college and projects, but the bus ride home is a different story; I am filled with a sense of pleasure and success. I am going home knowing I had a productive day with my student, looking forward to continuing the progress she has been making, and realizing that Tutors for Alls structure and support has made all the difference.
Heather Felix
Lead Tutor Fall 2005
One of Tutors for All's strengths is the structure of the program. The lesson plan provides the tutors with an efficient plan for the limited time they have with the students. I was unaccustomed to the schedule set up for the program, but once I adjusted to it, I found that I had the most productive tutoring sessions with my student. Time was never wasted but neither was it rushed. The lesson plan is a useful material for the tutors because is prepares the tutor for the day ahead and keeps the tutor focused on the lesson. I now realize that in other tutoring programs I would tend to go off on tangents for fifteen minutes and never finish my lesson plan. This past term I have learned how to manage my time
