America Reads Tutors

America Reads tutors from DePaul University work in all grades, kindergarten through 8th grade, in 24 Chicago public and Catholic schools during the fall, winter and spring quarters. Each tutoring day (Monday through Thursday) about 200 tutors meet at DePaul and are taken by bus to a school. Tutors may work for one day (or more) each week. Tutors receive in-service training at DePaul. DePaul student tutors eligible for work- study can earn $10 an hour. Others can gain valuable clinical experience.

Upon arrival at the schools, DePaul tutors spend over two hours tutoring students one-on-one. During the two hour period, they tutor an average of three students. Students assigned tutors are identified by the principal or teacher as underachieving children who might benefit from individual attention.

The tutoring program focuses on the instructional intent of the classroom teacher of the student being tutored. It is expected that participating teachers in public schools have aligned their program with state, district, and school goals and needs in the area of reading. Skills addressed may include:

• Literal comprehension
• Inferential comprehension
• Vocabulary development
• Drawing conclusions
• Making generalizations
• Predicting outcomes
• Analyzing character
• Identifying mood of a passage
• Interpreting figurative language

Teachers prepare a communique giving each tutor specific assignments to be completed by the student. The tutor assesses student progress and reports it in writing to the classroom teacher using the communique. Schools report an increase in student self-confidence, enthusiasm, class participation, and desire to complete assignments and eagerness to learn, as a result of having DePaul tutors work one-on-one with students.

The same students are tutored in the program from September to June to provide consistent help in the area of reading. The Chicago Board of Education monitors standardized test results of public school students. Test results of tutored children indicate considerable growth in reading. DePaul University's America Reads tutoring program is viewed as a valuable resource by all schools served.

For more information about DePaul's America Reads Tutoring Program, contact Dr. Delores Eder at deder@depaul.edu

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