Reading Corps tutors needed

Posted on: Apr 4, 2018

Reading Corps tutors needed

Few skills are more integral to learning than reading, and students who don’t learn to read well by the end of third grade typically have a difficult time catching up during the rest of their school years.
 
In Minnesota, about one in three third-graders struggle with reading, so the extra help provided by Minnesota Reading Corps (MRC) tutors can make a big difference.
 
Delano Elementary is seeking three full-time MRC tutors to step in for the 2018-19 school year to replace three outgoing tutors. Sue Dehne, Angela Westlund and Lacy Punt have served during the current school year, and each one said they would highly recommend the experience.
 
“I was a stay-at-home mom for 11 years, and this was something to just get back into the swing of working,” said Westlund, who is wrapping up her work at DES after two years.
 
Punt saw a notice seeking tutors in one of the district’s publications last year and decided to go for the experience.
 
“I just wanted to try tutoring young kids,” she said, adding that an educational benefit provided to MRC tutors was also an incentive.
Full-time tutors earn a stipend of about $500 every two weeks, and they also earn an education award of just under $6,000 per year for two years.
 
Because tutors receive thorough instruction in MRC methods both before and during the school year, they do not need much in the way of prior qualifications beyond a high school diploma.
 
“They are fully trained, so when they come and start they feel pretty confident,” said DES basic skills teacher Lisa Downer, who oversees the Reading Corps program at DES.
 
Tutor hours run from about 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Dehne, a former teacher who has served as a tutor for the past three years, said the opportunity to work on the same schedule as her own school-age son was a good fit.
 
“I like the one-on-one or the small group teaching,” Dehne said. “I’ve enjoyed it so I just stayed with it.”
 
Delano Elementary School has been a Minnesota Reading Corps site for the past 10 years. Tutors have their own instruction area, and Downer said the staff appreciates the work done by the Reading Corps personnel. Dehne said the feeling is mutual.
 
“It’s just been very nice working with the staff here and being a part of the school,” she said.
 
For more information, contact Downer at lisa.downer@delanoschools.org, or see www.minnesotareading corps.org.