Unique Volunteer helped children learn through STEP

Every Monday and Wednesday last year, Elizabeth Tilley joined other tutors to volunteer at Marion-Sterling School in Cleveland in a pilot initiative called STEP (Supporting Tutors Engaging Pupils). STEP at Marion-Sterling focuses on first graders who are below grade level in reading and was developed through collaboration of The Literacy Cooperative and a group of community literacy partners. 

Like many volunteer tutors, Ms. Tilley has a passion for reading, language, children and for helping people reach their highest potential. What makes Ms. Tilley different from the other tutors is that she has only been reading for about a decade herself, even though she is 53 years old.

A native of England, Ms. Tilley grew up in a blue-collar town with her parents and five siblings. She faked her way through school by using attitude, copy-cat behavior and deductive reasoning, though she never learned to read well enough to actually comprehend a text. Eventually, she married a Clevelander and moved to the United States, working as a hair stylist until her six children grew up and left home. It was then that Ms. Tilley found herself at a crossroads.

“I was bored and I needed to decide what to do with myself,” said Ms. Tilley.  “I wanted to do more.”

When she first visited Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) and tried to register for a class, she realized that she wasn’t even literate enough to fill out the application forms. Ms. Tilley left Tri-C without registering for a single course, but she was more determined than ever to learn. By the time she returned to Tri-C, she had taught herself to read using everything from texts from the Bible to instructions on food labels—anything she could get her hands on. Ms. Tilley now holds an Associate’s Degree from Tri-C.

Ms. Tilley became involved with STEP after a suggestion from Tri-C Metro Campus President, Dr. Michael Schoop.

“My life completely changed when I learned to read,” said Ms. Tilley. “It opened up my worldview, which made me connect with my community in new ways, really care about what’s going on, and try to make it better.  With STEP, I can help keep a child from missing out on all that by missing out on reading.”

The Literacy Cooperative developed STEP to help underperforming children and prevent reading failure through one-on-one, regular, structured tutoring sessions that coordinate with the classroom curriculum. The goal of STEP is to improve outcomes by helping students acquire the skills necessary for literacy success. The STEP pilot programs focus on kindergarteners and first graders who are below grade level because research shows that children who are not reading at grade level by the end of third grade usually fail to meet grade level expectations for reading in future years.

Understanding that children learn best from well-planned and consistent tutoring sessions, STEP provides volunteers with a variety of tools to use when they meet with the children including scripted lesson plans, materials and strategies that cater to the children’s interests, abilities, learning styles, and cultural backgrounds. The tutors use research-based methods to deliver lessons that emphasize phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. 

STEP also strives to accomplish what Ms. Tilley likes best about the program – to establish strong, mentoring relationships between the tutors and the children. Research has shown that regular interaction strengthens assets in children that lead to improved skills and promotes teamwork and satisfaction for volunteers.

“I love that with STEP you get a chance to help a child and that satisfies your need to give back while opening up the world for that child,” said Ms. Tilley.  “For some kids, the one-on-one attention they get from the tutor may be the only attention they get and so they give back their undivided attention as well.”

The Literacy Cooperative has partnered with an evaluator at John Carroll University in Cleveland to coordinate a formal assessment protocol for STEP that measures the value of the initiative as an intervention that can improve outcomes for children.

In year two of the pilot, The Literacy Coperative will continue to work with first grade students at Marion Sterling School and will expand the initiative to include kindergarten students in the Euclid City School District.  Year two STEP pilot activities will enable The Literacy Cooperative to further demonstrate results and refine STEP for replication.  It is the hope of The Literacy Cooperative that STEP will be recognized as an effective tutoring model and subsequently adopted by organizations offering tutoring services in Greater Cleveland area schools.

 

For Ms. Tilley, education does not stop with her Associate’s Degree.  This fall, she started attending John Carroll University in order to finish her Bachelor’s Degree and begin work towards a Master’s Degree in non-profit management.

Watch Ms. Tilley talk about her experience: http://youtu.be/qI1c-Yvz5Uo

Katherine Bulava

Katherine Bulava is President of Hatha Communications.

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Volume 3, Issue 1, Posted 12:40 PM, 02.02.2012