Gwen, a 2nd-grade student at Farmin Stidwell Elementary School, entered the room where Halo, a Sandpoint High School junior, sat waiting for her, book open and ready to tutor. The admiration in Gwen’s eyes was apparent as she shyly sat down and immediately began practicing her reading. As she stumbled over a word, she looked up to Halo questioningly. Halo patiently broke down the word phonetically to show Gwen not only how to read but how to solve a challenge when she bumps into one.
This is “Growing Our Own,” a win-win teacher grant PAFE is proud to fund. Lorainne Gee, director of 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) After School Program for Lake Pend Oreille School District, applied for this grant after meeting with her counterparts in Boise, who struggled to find staff to tutor their students. What if, she thought, we hired high school students as tutors? The elementary kids look up to them and will be motivated to learn while giving high school students jobs they may need and the skills to teach.
The PAFE grant covers the wages to hire high school students interested in a career in education to tutor elementary students in the after-school program in reading, math, sight words, homework, and more.
It is a win-win because elementary students receive one-on-one instruction and support to increase academic achievement. High school students receive school credit and/or compensation for their after-school hours, which in turn supports our community at large.
It’s more like a win-win-win.
Hiring cross-age tutors meets PAFE’s mission by promoting academic excellence and increasing community support in our after-school program. Cross-age tutoring (when the tutor is older than the tutee) is integral to the human condition. According to Education Northwest, in prehistoric times, parents taught their offspring how to build fires, what plants and berries are safe to eat, and how to hunt. Their research indicates that in today’s world, “Tutors and tutees have been shown to benefit academically from peer and cross-age tutoring in elementary settings.”
We visited Halo and Gwen during a recent session. In this video, Halo shares how much she benefits from teaching Gwen, not only from a self-esteem standpoint, but also because it has clarified for her what she would like to do as a career path. Her journey is a testament to the personal growth and career clarity that the ‘Growing Our Own’ program can inspire in our high school students.
Impact
Approximately 148 elementary students will be served by high school tutors two to three times weekly in 15-minute intervals. (The after-school program serves 60 students at Farmin, 60 at Kootenai, and 28 at Southside.) Reading data and teacher recommendations help identify the students with the highest reading needs first, offering two to three 15-minute weekly sessions. This 15-minute timeframe has proven to be most impactful for students.
Our teacher grants support Lake Pend Oreille School District educators to bring creative and innovative programs to the classroom. Because they are teacher-led ideas and not mandated by outside parties, they have a far more significant impact on the students. These grants fill gaps in funding with innovative programs to amplify our impact. Your support is crucial in sustaining and expanding these initiatives. If you’d like to be a part of this, you can donate here.
