Colorado Youth for a Change

From Tyler, Colorado Reading Corps tutor: I started tutoring James during second semester of 2nd grade. At that time, he was reading at a Kindergarten level and had a stammer that affected his ability to read quickly or accurately. Every day, we worked on Word Construction to build up his foundational skills and confidence, yet at grade level, the data showed very little progress. After our first month together, I was worried he just wasn't getting it! However, a few weeks later, I opened up his Read at Home folder to find a thank you note from his mom. Apparently, James had started reading to her at the grocery store - not just sentences from his folder, but he was reading labels on food and sounding out signs. We were both so proud of his success! As a returning AmeriCorps members, I’ve continued to work with James in 3rd grade. I’ve seen him move from word construction to connected text. Watching him learn to read has been like seeing his entire world unfold before his eyes. He feels confident in his ability to read and is now right at 3rd grade reading level. He is getting ready to go into 4th grade knowing how to read, comprehend, and have confidence in himself. It is a big win!

Shoutout to Jenn, a Corps for a Change member serving in Aurora! Jenn has a senior parenting student who has dreams of becoming a professional photographer. Jenn got a camera donated by a community member and worked with the school to have them fund the student's first photography class. We can't wait to see the student's amazing photographs!