Khahil Hill, a second-grader at Allen Elementary School, loves “Dragon Ball Z.” He says the one book he has at home is a “Dragon Ball Z” book. Hill does not like to read, but he likes to draw. He pulls drawings of “Dragon Ball Z” characters out of his desk from between books and pencils to show Elliot Sanchez, a general studies freshman in the University Honors program.
Sanchez has some high expectations to live up to – getting students like Hill interested in reading as part of a new Renaissance Readers Service Learning program.
The new effort consists of 54 Loyola students who visit one of three elementary schools on a weekly basis and help tutor students in reading.
Sanchez went to Allen Elementary for the first time on Tuesday where he met Hill and Angelica Allen, both students in Mrs. Martin’s second-grade class, to help them with reading.
English writing freshman Morgan Carattini was feeling a little nervous as she walked the few blocks down Loyola Avenue to Allen. It was her first time tutoring.
“What if I’m not a good reading tutor?” Carattini said.
She was immediately put to work helping fifth-grader with math. The two sat at a desk outside the teacher’s class and worked on reading and writing numbers up to the billions place. Around them in the hallway, paint was chipping off the walls and bare wires ran across the ceiling.
Political science freshman Summer Zeimetz had anticipated helping one or two students a week that the teacher would select. The teacher put five of his students that needed help onto her list.
“Do I help just two of the students or all of them?” Zeimetz said.
The program started with the late Julian Wasserman, Loyola literature professor, who tutored at Robert M. Lusher School. His children struggled with reading, so he started tutoring at the school to help them and other students pass the L.E.A.P. test. He was successful in his efforts; all the students he tutored passed the exam.
Wasserman developed myelodyspastic syndrome, and as he struggled to overcome the disease, some of the students in the University Honors Association took over tutoring at Lusher. Wasserman died in June 2003.
Chemistry Professor Lynn Koplitz, who also had children at Lusher, continued Wasserman’s work when she became director of the Honors program. Koplitz met with Rhonda Nowak, assistant professor in education and counseling, who had similar ideas for a program helping students. Along with Carol Jeandron, director of Service Learning, they started the Renaissance Readers program.
Jeandron said Loyola tutors were in demand at the three public schools – all wanted more tutors from the Renaissance Readers programs than were available.
Students attended an initial workshop by Nowak to prepare for tutoring and will attend monthly workshops as the semester continues. They post reflections on their experience on Blackboard following tutoring each week.
Shiwanda Guyton, the numeracy coach at Allen and one of the contacts for the program, described the first week as hectic. Tutors started arriving on Monday, and along with directing them to where the tutors were needed, she’d been getting ready for a mandatory faculty meeting and an open house Tuesday evening.
But the extra stress might well be worth it. Guyton said she has hopes that the Renaissance Readers program will “give students a desire to read.”
While there may be a few things to work out as the program advances, Allen Principal Jonathan Williams said he is enthusiastic. He said he hopes that the programs will “help increase student achievement and interest in literature.”
“We take it for granted that we can read,” Koplitz said. “There’s a huge need for tutors. Literacy is really poor in the New Orleans public school system. If you can’t read, it can really hold you back.”
While this is the first semester of the program, Koplitz is hopeful it will continue for semesters to come. And, as for next week, Sanchez has promised Hill some “Dragon Ball Z” books to read.
Savannah S. Brehmer can be reached at [email protected].
