From left to right: Darlene Fiscus, V.P. Community Benefit and Jennifer O’ Donnell, Program Officer Community Benefit.
The Challenge:
More than half of the Third-grade students in the North Bay do not read proficiently.
More than 21,900 students are in Sonoma County. Helping more than half of them is quite a large undertaking. What is UWWC’s plan for meeting this very large need?
Darlene and Jennifer: To help children succeed in school, United Way of the Wine County launched Schools of Hope (SOH), an early intervention initiative for children who struggle with reading. Our goal is to raise third-grade reading proficiency in Sonoma County from 46% to 90% by 2020.
Research shows that a student who is not at least moderately successful in reading by the end of third grade is unlikely to graduate from high school. We also know that the poverty rate for families headed by dropouts is more than twice that of families headed by high school graduates.
Schools of Hope targets those students that need some extra one-on-one practice in order to read at grade level in K through 3rd grades. We currently work with both 1st- and 2nd-grade students, expanding to kindergarten and 3rd as we are able.
Support from key partners in the education, business and non-profit community has mobilized more than 200 volunteer tutors and the needed funds to launch the pilot phase of the program.
How many classrooms are participating in Schools of Hope’s pilot program?
Darlene and Jennifer: Currently we have 31 classrooms at six schools participating in Schools of Hope. With more resources, we hope to expand the program to all Sonoma County elementary schools that need and want this program.
Has it worked in those classrooms?
Darlene and Jennifer: Yes. Early classroom assessments show student progress, with a 31% increase in the number of Schools of Hope students reading at benchmark after less than 12 weeks of tutoring. Teachers also report that while not all students have reached benchmark, 100% of the tutored students have made progress toward that goal.
What will it take to meet the demand for adding classrooms?
Darlene and Jennifer: Next year, we plan to continue at the six pilot schools, expanding into additional second grade classrooms. In addition, we are planning to add at least 2 new schools in Sonoma County. United Way and many of our partners, such as the school districts, Sonoma County Office of Education and the Volunteer Center, are committing in-kind resources to this program with staff time and expertise. We will need to add another 160 tutors to our current 200, and to raise $64,000 to meet the 2011-2012 goals outlined above. Additional tutors and funding would allow us to reach even more schools.
What do teachers and school administrators say about the program?
Darlene and Jennifer: Teachers and administrators report both increased confidence and achievement by students in the program. Teachers are eager to continue the program next year, and other teachers are asking how they can get tutors for their students.
- “The one-to-one tutoring has helped the children amazingly!! A couple of my ‘middle’ students are rising to the top of the class in reading. Students are enjoying their time with their tutors and the other students are asking when they will get a tutor.” – Mary Beyer, first grade teacher, Brook Hill Elementary School
- “I’ve been teaching for 20 years, and the supported practice our students are getting with the Schools of Hope volunteers has been a great help to our students. Many of our students have no one who can listen to them read on a regular basis. It is so important that they have this chance to practice what they are learning in school; plus they really like having the one-on-one attention.” – Patrice Fors-Schoellhorn, first grade teacher, Robert Louis Stevens Elementary School.
- “It is amazing what one-on-one practice can achieve for some of our students.” – Aura Branscom, Reading Specialist, Taylor Mountain Elementary School
Schools of Hope By The Numbers
- 200 is the total number of tutors
- 180 is the number of students currently being tutored
- 2 is the average number of times students are tutored per week
- 1,858 is the number of tutoring hours logged from October, 2010 through March 2011
- $43,514 is the monetary value of volunteer tutoring hours
List of Pilot Schools and Districts
- Bellevue Union School District: Taylor Mountain Elementary School
- Bennett Valley Union School District: Yulupa Elementary School
- Rincon Valley Union School District: Spring Creek Elementary School
- Santa Rosa City School District: Brook Hill Elementary School
- Roseland School District: Roseland Elementary School
- Wright School District: Robert L. Stevens Elementary School
Read in print format. (PDF)
Community Champions is produced by the Marketing Department and the Celebrate Community Partners and does not involve The Press Democrat reporting staff.
Community Champion:
Darlene Fiscus AND Jennifer O’Donnell
From left to right: Darlene Fiscus, V.P. Community Benefit and Jennifer O’ Donnell, Program Officer Community Benefit.
The Challenge:
More than half of the Third-grade students in the North Bay do not read proficiently.
More than 21,900 students are in Sonoma County. Helping more than half of them is quite a large undertaking. What is UWWC’s plan for meeting this very large need?
Darlene and Jennifer: To help children succeed in school, United Way of the Wine County launched Schools of Hope (SOH), an early intervention initiative for children who struggle with reading. Our goal is to raise third-grade reading proficiency in Sonoma County from 46% to 90% by 2020.
Research shows that a student who is not at least moderately successful in reading by the end of third grade is unlikely to graduate from high school. We also know that the poverty rate for families headed by dropouts is more than twice that of families headed by high school graduates.
Schools of Hope targets those students that need some extra one-on-one practice in order to read at grade level in K through 3rd grades. We currently work with both 1st- and 2nd-grade students, expanding to kindergarten and 3rd as we are able.
Support from key partners in the education, business and non-profit community has mobilized more than 200 volunteer tutors and the needed funds to launch the pilot phase of the program.
How many classrooms are participating in Schools of Hope’s pilot program?
Darlene and Jennifer: Currently we have 31 classrooms at six schools participating in Schools of Hope. With more resources, we hope to expand the program to all Sonoma County elementary schools that need and want this program.
Has it worked in those classrooms?
Darlene and Jennifer: Yes. Early classroom assessments show student progress, with a 31% increase in the number of Schools of Hope students reading at benchmark after less than 12 weeks of tutoring. Teachers also report that while not all students have reached benchmark, 100% of the tutored students have made progress toward that goal.
What will it take to meet the demand for adding classrooms?
Darlene and Jennifer: Next year, we plan to continue at the six pilot schools, expanding into additional second grade classrooms. In addition, we are planning to add at least 2 new schools in Sonoma County. United Way and many of our partners, such as the school districts, Sonoma County Office of Education and the Volunteer Center, are committing in-kind resources to this program with staff time and expertise. We will need to add another 160 tutors to our current 200, and to raise $64,000 to meet the 2011-2012 goals outlined above. Additional tutors and funding would allow us to reach even more schools.
What do teachers and school administrators say about the program?
Darlene and Jennifer: Teachers and administrators report both increased confidence and achievement by students in the program. Teachers are eager to continue the program next year, and other teachers are asking how they can get tutors for their students.
Schools of Hope By The Numbers
List of Pilot Schools and Districts
Read in print format. (PDF)
Community Champions is produced by the Marketing Department and the Celebrate Community Partners and does not involve The Press Democrat reporting staff.