For the past school year, one day a week, elementary school students from several DPS schools, have patiently waited for their classroom computer phone to ring. The person on the other end of the call was an excited, corporate employee who volunteered their time to read to a DPS student. The program is called TutorMate, an innovative shared screen online tutoring program that allows volunteers to read remotely with students for 30 minutes weekly. After a school year of weekly reading sessions, the students had the opportunity to meet their reading buddy in person for the first time during a year-end celebration.
“Today was a really big day for a lot of my students,” says Caroline Robbins, a teacher at Kunsmiller Creative Arts Academy, as she reflects back on the year-end celebration with Janus, a Denver-based global investment firm. Through the TutorMate program, students and volunteers were able to form a bond, both looking forward to their weekly time together. The year-end celebration was a great way for both the students and volunteers to celebrate the progress each reader made.
“TutorMate is a great opportunity for us to take some time out of our day to help other people, and these kids are so excited when we call them. We can really tell that we are helping them when we are working through the reading program with them,” says Heidi Hardin, Senior Vice President General Counsel with Janus. “I really enjoyed getting on the phone with the little girl that I am tutoring. It’s rewarding to know the work that I am doing with my co-tutors, since I am not tutoring alone, is helping her move forward with her reading skills. You get a real charge out of being able to help a kid become a better reader. While the students are certainly getting a lot of support from their teachers, you also know that you have something to do with their progress, and that’s a great feeling.”
Thanks to an enthusiastic response from the business community, the TutorMate program is growing rapidly in Denver. The 2013/14 school year was the second year of TutorMate in Denver Public Schools and included over 150 volunteer tutors from eight companies. Thank you to all the businesses that provided volunteer tutors including: Booze Allen Hamilton, CBRE, Janus, JP Morgan Chase, Lockton, Microsoft, Sungard and Western Union.
“One of the biggest benefits I saw from the TutorMate program was the self-confidence that was built in my students after participating in the program,” says Roxanne Elsner, a teacher at College View Elementary. “A few kids that were shy and quiet have really come out of their shell. One-on-one reading time, especially for struggling readers, is critical to their improvement, and TutorMate provides that. All of my students felt special that they were chosen for the program and they liked the one-on-one attention.”
TutorMate is a collaboration between the School Partners Program and Innovations for Learning that allows volunteers to read with a DPS first-grade student once a week for 30 minutes without ever leaving their office. Each tutor works with the same student throughout the school year, building a deep and meaningful rapport and mentoring relationship. Students and tutors read stories and play activities that encourage fluency, comprehension, phonics and spelling skills.
“I would recommend TutorMate to anyone,” says Robbins. “There are a lot of people to support you, and it’s really easy to use. It was really a pleasure to participate in the TutorMate program. I would really like to thank everyone who made it possible.”
Contact the School Partners Program today to set up your partnership with TutorMate for next school year.