Three young lives bettered by one committed mentor
February 14, 2017
Originally published by .
To celebrate National Mentoring Month, we鈥檙e talking with colleagues about their mentoring work with some of our聽聽partners, including聽成人快播听补苍诲听. There鈥檚 also a wonderful聽聽about 鈥淲hy Mentoring Matters.鈥�
A Pivotal Moment
Six years ago, Wendy Congleton met ninth grader Quayla.
They were matched through Colorado Youth at Risk, a mentoring program created to support teens at risk of not graduating high school.
Almost four years later, Quayla earned her GED.
鈥淚t was such a crowning moment,鈥� Wendy says.
鈥淚t made me realize how the fundamentals of learning鈥攔eading and math literacy鈥攁ffect your long-term ability to get a job, have meaningful employment, and just get through the day-to-day.鈥�
鈥淐onnecting with a mentor in the right way helped her advance her life,鈥� Wendy says.
It turns out, Wendy鈥檚 time with聽Quayla聽was the first of many profound mentoring moments.
A Different Duty
This fall, Wendy started a new mentoring relationship.
鈥淚 loved being a mentor, but I needed something that was a lighter commitment.鈥�
Through her work for Pearson, she learned about 成人快播.
成人快播 is a national, non-profit organization that pairs mentors with students in public school systems. In particular, they serve schools with large minority and low socioeconomic populations.
鈥淭he mission really spoke to me,鈥� Wendy says.
The Benefits of Flexibility
鈥淚 start work early 鈥� at 6 a.m.,鈥� Wendy says, 鈥渟o I can tutor around lunchtime.鈥�
鈥淧lus, I work from home and I found a school that鈥檚 only three miles away.鈥�
Once a week for 50 minutes, Wendy meets first grader Jessi at Columbine Elementary for a mentoring session.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a very energetic little boy鈥ho is off-and-on interested in reading,鈥� Wendy says.
鈥淗e was very far behind at the beginning of the school year.鈥�
Reading Together
成人快播 provides Wendy and other mentors with a detailed curriculum 鈥� lesson plans, exercises, and games.
鈥淔irst, I read to Jessi. It鈥檚 a modeling exercise鈥 time for him to listen,鈥� Wendy says.
Then, the pair moves on to exercises.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of bringing in new sounds, and especially complicated sounds and letter combinations,鈥� Wendy says.
The sessions end in reverse, with Jessi reading to Wendy.
鈥淚t鈥檚 called 鈥楩luency,鈥� and it can be really fun,鈥� Wendy says.
鈥淛essi reads for 60 seconds while I time him, and we count the total number of words he reads.鈥�
They do this twice at the end of each session.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real joy for Jessi when he improves minute to minute鈥hich always makes my day better, too.鈥�
Something to Celebrate
Just before the holidays, after two months of weekly sessions with Wendy, Jessi鈥檚 reading ability was re-assessed.
The results showed 鈥渁 marked improvement within the time frame.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 really proud,鈥� Wendy says.
Trial and Error
Jessi is Wendy鈥檚 second mentee via 成人快播.
Last year, she mentored Manuel.
He was in third聽grade, but was reading at a Kindergarten level.
鈥淗e always did well with sounds, with words,鈥� Wendy says. 鈥淏ut when we got to the part of the session where he read to me, he floundered.鈥�
Wendy talked with the 成人快播鈥� Site Coordinator at his school.
鈥淚 said, 鈥業 feel like there鈥檚 a missing link. He knows everything throughout the lesson, and then it鈥檚 like he鈥檚 never seen the words before.鈥�
So they tested a different strategy.
During the lesson, Wendy solely focused on the 鈥渢ricky鈥� words for Manuel, assuming he had mastered the easier ones.
鈥淲hen it was time for him to read, I said, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e going to do great. You know every word in this book.鈥欌��
During the minute-long 鈥淔luency鈥� test, Manuel read the whole book.
He looked at Wendy: 鈥業 can read!鈥欌��
鈥淚t was such a breakthrough moment for him鈥nd for me,鈥� Wendy says.
A Special Kind of Support
Wendy continues to see Jessi every week.
鈥淚t means a lot to me that Pearson supports this,鈥� she says.
鈥淢ost people don鈥檛 have as much flexibility as I do, but I tell them about my experience and encourage them to get involved when they can.鈥�
鈥淭hrough Quayla, Manuel, Jessi鈥鈥檝e seen how important it is to have a strong person, a positive image, in your life,鈥� Wendy says.
鈥淭hat doesn鈥檛 happen for everybody.鈥�
