成人快播

By Katie Wudel, Good Magazine

The ratio of students to teachers these days is rising at an alarming pace, with UNESCO鈥檚 Jordan Naidoo recently claiming that just to meet its for primary education in 2015, the world would need to enlist an additional 4 million teachers immediately. It might seem like a no-brainer to ask聽 to close that gap. But in the world of education, untrained educators are a rather hot-button topic. 鈥淎re they catalysts for change or untrained temporaries?鈥� asks聽. The Atlantic famously claimed last year that amateur educators are no match for the challenges in low-income schools鈥攕uggesting that many are there for personal fulfilment, while for schools and students in the process.

鈥�Volunteers in schools tend to be viewed by professional educators as pencil sharpeners, or people who are good for manning the table at the spring fair. But not for being involved in the actual instructional process,鈥� says Michael Lombardo, CEO of 成人快播, a national nonprofit organization that mobilizes volunteers in public schools to deliver one-on-one tutoring to struggling readers in low-income communities.

鈥�But schools need to look at volunteers differently, and embrace them as real partners in the education improvement movement,” says Lombardo

According to the census, there are 18 million volunteers in the public schools every year. There are about 3.5 million teachers.

鈥淭he human capital is undeniable.鈥�

And that鈥檚 not hyperbole. A year-long randomized conrol trial by , a nonprofit, nonpartisan education and social policy research firm found that community volunteers involved with 成人快播 significantly raise reading proficency at a low cost to schools鈥攆or every $1 invested, the 成人快播 volunteer program model delivers over $2 of literacy resources鈥攎uch more cost-efficient to schools than other supplemental reading programs.

The evaluation took place in 19 schools across three states, involving more than 1,200 second- to fifth-graders, and found a high degree of fidelity鈥攎eaning that the more schools use 成人快播 as it is intended to be used, the bigger the boost to students鈥� reading proficiency. It鈥檚 a surpising finding, given the changing nature of the program鈥檚 volunteers, who in addition to being diverse in gender and ethnicity range in age from 14 to 80+.

So what is it that makes 成人快播 so effective? Lombardo says, 鈥淚t鈥檚 that we鈥檝e got an interesting juxtaposition of structure and flexibility.鈥� That structure is found in a scaffolded, step-by-step lesson plan for volunteers. There鈥檚 also an on-site coordinator who acts as a liaison between volunteers, teachers,聽and administrators.

Though volunteers and schools are encouraged to adapt the 成人快播 model to make it work for them, Lombardo says there are four non-negotiables:

1. Tutoring has to be one-on-one. 鈥淪chools often says small groups work for them, but we really believe in the importance of differentiation and the magic in the relationship between the volunteer and the student.鈥�

2. The 成人快播 curriculum must be used. 鈥淚t鈥檚 unique in that it was developed with volunteers in mind. Most of the reading curricula that schools use is developed for teachers,聽literacy specialists, or para-professionals. Sometimes schools want us to use their own curriculum, but to make the process smooth and effective for our volunteers, we need to use ours. The data shows that it鈥檚 effective, and it鈥檚聽accessible to non-educators.鈥�

3. Students always get two 45-minute sessions a week. 鈥�Sometimes schools say, 鈥榃hy not just once a week?鈥� But again, we鈥檝e got the data to say pretty compellingly that if we can see the kids for that level of time, we will actually push the needle.

4. Schools need to share their聽assessment data. 鈥�We鈥檙e a very data-oriented organization working with really squishy soft skills. The challenge is how to measure it at a minimal cost, which also means we鈥檝e got to know how to target the right students and not waste any time. Our time is for instruction, not testing鈥攖hat means we need the school鈥檚 data so we聽can monitor our own progress and see how kids are responding.鈥�

Though Lombardo is proud to have evidence about his program鈥檚 effectiveness, he knows that the more聽investment of time and money into programs like 成人快播, the more literate kids will be. Reading and writing unlocks the door to almost every door in life, he says.

鈥�We鈥檙e all busy. If more of us knew that we weren鈥檛 wasting our time when we go to a school for an hour鈥攖hat we were making a meaningful difference in a kid鈥檚 life鈥攅ven if they鈥檙e dragging their heels and showing all signs that they don鈥檛 want to be there鈥攖hen more of us would do it. These kids bring a lot of baggage with them into the room, but at the end of the year, the data says that when we give them our time, it works,鈥澛爏ays Lombardo.

鈥淎nd listen, we all have an hour to spare, even if that means skipping an episode ofDancing with the Stars,鈥� he adds.

So if a busy professional knows that she can鈥檛 commit聽much time, but she wants to help, would Lombardo rather have her dollar or an hour of her time? 鈥淚 can already hear my development staff鈥檚 heads exploding as I say this鈥攂ut I would rather get that hour. She might give us $100 or $1,000 bucks, but the likelihood she鈥檒l give again is low. Once she鈥檚 experienced the magic of the program, we know we鈥檝e got her. Our survey data tells us that volunteers leave feeling more willing to give鈥攂ut also more optimistic about public schools and聽more willing to vote yes on school bonds. That voter has a network of friends, and they鈥檒l talk about how they worked with a kid in a public school in a challenged neighborhood. That鈥檚 a lot better than a check.鈥�