WJCC is seeking volunteers to participate in the Literacy for Life training.
Invest in the Future: Help a Child Learn to Read
Make a difference in a child’s life and in the future of our community!
Volunteer tutors will be:
- Trained by a reading specialist from Literacy for Life and at William & Mary’s School of Education.
- Matched with select children in grades K-3 at participating WJCC schools.
- Supported by the WJCC Coordinator of Reading/Language Arts and the school Reading Specialist.
To sign up for no-obligation training, contact Robyn Moore at 603-6539 or moorer3@wjcc.k12.va.us. Background checks may be required. Volunteers will commit to tutoring one or more times per week.
2013 Training Dates
Tuesday, October 1
Thursday, October 3
Monday, October 7
Friday, October 11
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Literacy for Life, W&M School of Education, 301 Monticello Ave., Suite 1076
Program Review
To date, education research shows that good teachers matter a lot, class size may be less important than once thought and nothing improves student performance as much as one-on-one tutoring.
– Steve Lohr, “Higher Education, a Focus on Technology,” New York Times, October 10, 2010.
In the fall of 2011, Literacy for Life and Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (W-JCC) launched a partnership in which Literacy for Life trains tutors to support the reading instruction of children in grades K-3. This partnership stems from W-JCC’s division-wide commitment to the goal that every child will read independently and well by the end of the third grade. The primary means of achieving this goal is to place trained volunteers in schools to tutor children in reading. In 2011 the program was launched in one pilot school. There was such a positive response from both the tutors and the school that we increased the number of participating schools in the 2012-13 school year. This year, we will again increase the number of schools so that we now have a total of six schools who will utilize Literacy for Life trained tutors to support the reading instruction of children in grades K-3.
There is limited research showing that volunteers are more likely to be successful if they are trained and follow specific guidelines. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that trained tutors exhibit more confidence when working with students and that training can improve retention of the volunteer tutors. W-JCC is committed to providing sustained professional development to all volunteer tutors of reading and measuring the outcomes of students participating in the program.