February 15th Meeting Recap
Speakers Jeannie Makowski & Sara Nobbs
Host Nate Lilleodden
Jeannie and Sara are representatives of Math and Reading Corp, both Americorps Programs. AmeriCorps is a civil society program supported by the U.S. federal government, foundations, corporations, and other donors engaging adults in public service work with a goal of "helping others and meeting critical needs in the community." 75k volunteer members commit to full-time or part-time positions offered by a network of nonprofitcommunity organizations and public agency, to fulfill assignments in the fields of education, public safety, health care, and environmental protection. Reading and MathCorps provide data-based intervention for students in 700 schools nationwide. ReadingCorps volunteers work in classrooms to facilitate reading proficiency by third grade, a critical juncture in education because "before 3rd grade you're learning to read; after 3rd grad you're reading to learn". In other words, if a student can't read well by 3rd grade they will quickly fall behind in every subject. Volunteers work in pre-k classrooms assisting at-risk learners, while kindergarten through third grade students receive one on one tutoring outside the classroom. MathCorps targets students in 4th-8th grades, with volunteers tutoring pairs of students and working to create a co-learning environment between them. Both programs are grounded in high levels of training for their volunteers and used measured outcomes to determine success for both the students and the tutors. Jeannie and Sara ended their interesting presentation with a request that we consider whether we might have what it takes to join them as Reading or MathCorps volunteers. Thank you Nate, Jeannie, and Sara for a top-notch presentation!