Sharing Local Impact

Blog post written by Tricia Busch, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps member at Ballard East Elementary.

Tricia Busch (third from left) and the
Ballard East Reading Corps team.

At the beginning of March, our Reading Corps team at Ballard East hosted a site visit with the United Way of Story County (UWSC). The United Way visitors were able to observe a Reading Corps intervention to see how their funding and support of Reading Corps is helping local students. We discussed how things were going and I shared success stories and edSpring graphs for some of my Reading Corps students.

In addition, my Internal Coach at Ballard East and my Heartland Area Education Association (AEA) Hybrid Coach were also able to participate in the meeting to share how they have helped me during my term of AmeriCorps service. I feel very fortunate to be serving at one of the three schools that are currently piloting this partnership with the Heartland AEA and am glad that I could use this opportunity to express my appreciation with the United Way visitors. 

At the end of the month, I also had an opportunity to interact with students and their family members at Ballard East's “Literacy Luau.” The event was a Hawaiian themed night, hosted by Ballard East, dedicated to literacy. Each classroom featured a variety of literacy-based games and we also provided a book walk and book fair for students. I enjoyed being a part of this night and helping with the games. The students were very excited to bring their parents to school, they all had a blast, and the night was a success!

2014-2015 Member Application Open!

Become an Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Member!

If you're passionate about helping students receive the literacy skills they need to succeed, we invite you to learn more about becoming an AmeriCorps member with Iowa Reading Corps. As a member, you'll provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to students in Kindergarten through third grade who are below grade level in reading. You'll receive extensive training and support before and throughout your term of AmeriCorps service, so an education degree isn't required to be a successful candidate for Iowa Reading Corps.

Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps members are trained as Elementary Literacy Tutors and are placed in school districts throughout Iowa. Members are assigned to one site for the duration of the program year and serve at least 40 hours per week. During the summer months, members partner with local United Ways to recruit volunteers and support community engagement by providing literacy activities at summer feeding programs, assisting with summer tutoring programs, and/or coordinating children's summer literacy programs at local libraries. 

In return for their service, AmeriCorps members receive a living stipend, optional health care coverage and child care assistance, and access to training opportunities. Members must complete 1,720 service hours beginning September 1, 2014 and ending no later than July 31, 2015. Upon successful completion of a term of service, members receive an Education Award of $5,645 to be used toward future college expenses or to pay back existing federal student loans. Members who are 55+ may also transfer their education award to a child, grandchild, or foster child.

To complete a member application and view a full position description, please visit: http://www.uwiowa.org/apply-americorps. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 31, 2014.

Turning "I Can't" into "I Can"

Jenn Martin, Iowa Reading Corps
AmeriCorps Member

Blog post written by Jenn Martin, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Member at Oskaloosa Elementary.

Recently, I've been reflecting on some of the most significant challenges and successes that I've experienced with my Reading Corps students. Over the past few months, I've been tutoring a few students who were well below the target scores for the school year and after seeing slower progress, I was starting to feel frustrated with my part in the tutoring process. With support from my Internal Coach, we continued to adapt and work to meet the needs of these students. After conferences, I was informed that two of those students would be tested for learning disabilities. Although I felt a sense of relief that their needs would continue to be met, I was still feeling discouraged. 

As the weeks have passed, both of these students have really started to shine in the Great Leaps interventions. It is so rewarding, especially for these two, to see how excited they are becoming as they have started to more frequently “leap” pages. I've also made it a point to provide purposeful encouragement to these students and have seen them develop more self-confidence every day. I must admit that seeing an increase in a student's self-confidence is the best part of my job as a literacy tutor!

I also have a few students in Reading Corps who have an, “I can’t” attitude. The last thing that I want is for any student to feel like a failure. After chatting with the family members of one of these students, we decided to implement an “I can” policy. In an effort to increase this student's self-confidence, we no longer allow him to use the “I can’t” phrase at home or during tutoring sessions. Instead we encourage him to say, “This is hard,” or “I can try.” By simply removing that "I can't" phrase from his vocabulary, we have seen him become a more confident reader and his mother even noted that she has seen an all-around improvement in his self-confidence. It is so nice to know that by working together with my students’ family members; I can be a part of something bigger.

Engaging Every Parent and Guardian

Jamie Thompson, Iowa Reading Corps
AmeriCorps Member

Blog post written by Jamie Thompson, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Member at Neil Armstrong Elementary in Bettendorf.

The past few weeks have provided an important opportunity for me to get to know my students and their families. I recently participated in parent-teacher conferences by sharing more detailed information about the Reading Corps program with the families of students who currently receive Reading Corps services. I also provided examples of how the twenty minutes that I spend with these students each day has helped the students grow as readers. Many of my students' parents and guardians were very interested in the program and even asked to receive more information about the interventions that I use with their children so they can begin using similar strategies when they read with their children at home. 

Our student graphs provided a great and easy-to-follow visual representation of each child’s progress. As a member of the Neil Armstrong community, I felt that it was very important for me to use this opportunity to introduce myself as the Reading Corps AmeriCorps member and to share positive feedback regarding my students' reading growth and progress. Because many of the students who I tutor in literacy are also below grade level in other subjects, many of these students' families do not receive a lot of “positive” information at conferences. I was happy to take this opportunity to share some progress and good news!