Cornerstone|Tutoring

PROGRAMS

Tutoring

Bridge

Summer Camp

ONE-TO-ONE TUTORING

This is our primary program to help struggling students attain the skills they need for school - and life - success. Each youngster is paired with a volunteer mentor/tutor for weekly 90 minute sessions. Mentor/tutors prepare lessons geared to help the student with specific skills that have not yet been learned. For example, one child may need help with vocabulary (learning more words, pronouncing them properly, using a dictionary), while another needs help with comprehension (identifying the facts, recognizing opinion or the mood, comparing characters in a story), and yet a third is lost in math (needing help with times tables, reducing fractions, solving word problems).

We meet the student at the point of need and teach the skills necessary for continued learning.

Critical thinking skills are included in all lessons. The point of reading is to open new horizons and find new information that can inform the reader about life and its many issues. The point of math is to provide an assortment of measuring and defining markers so that we can understand the world around us and find solutions to a variety of problems. However, basic skills are needed in reading and math in order to think at the highest levels. These skills are the building blocks for reasoning.

We use a large assortment of materials, especially in reading. Our students have read magazines, poetry, contemporary novels, biographies, plays, tales, and classics. One young man, James, was paired with an older woman. They first read a modern adventure story that her grandson enjoyed. The book James that captured his interest, though, was The Odyssey. It was very hard for him because the vocabulary was well above his level, but he was thrilled by the story and willing to work hard to read it. Another student, Dante, was bored by everything until his tutor brought in her favorite work, poetry by T.S. Eliot. Reading this poetry changed his whole attitude toward reading and learning.

Tutors extend and apply the lessons by using worksheets, board games, and when possible, computer lessons and games. Many skills need to be practiced over and over until they are fully learned. Identifying facts and details in a story is important and can be work, but not when keeping notes as a detective on the trail of Carmen Sandiego in the computer game. Solving word problems, remembering the steps and the math facts is work, but not when figuring the rent to charge someone who landed on your property with hotels in Monopoly.

This program works! Test scores at year end consistently show great improvements in reading and math skills. In the 2006-2007 school year, 93% of students improved one or more grades in reading or math and 73% improved 2 or more grades.

In the 2004-2005 school-year, 93% of students reported that they learned something that will help them in school, and, 100% reported more confidence in their academic skills.

"I liked that my tutor didn't rush me to answer or get mad if I get a question wrong. She helped me and made sure I understand." Sharifa, 8th grade