Green Valley Tutors: Maximizing Potential through Individual Attention
The 2015-2016 school year saw many changes for Calabasas School. This was the first year that 2 schools were merged into 1, and Calabasas became a Pre-K-8th grade school. This brought new leadership to the school and new activities. One of which was the implementation of a tutoring program with a group of volunteers from Green Valley. The Green Valley Tutors were structured to fit a targeted group in our middle school students, under the planning of Mrs. Cabrera, then Calabasas Assistant Principal. Mrs. Cabrera structured the plan to meet the needs of students by pairing students with a volunteer tutor from Green Valley.
Now, five years later the program is still going strong under the guidance of Mrs. Julie Ballard, Calabasas 6-8 Instructional Coach. The tutors drive down to Rio Rico twice per week on Mondays and Tuesdays to meet with select students. They help students with reading skills, with activities and resources that are provided by Mrs. Ballard. The program works with students in 6th and 7th grade that have been identified as needing extra support based off of their MAP Growth data.
There are currently 16 tutors and 32 students that have been paired up. Tutoring takes place during the students’ tutorial and enrichment time during the school day. The retired volunteers vary from retired educators, librarians, engineers, psychologists, and those that just have a love of children.
The time shared between them and students is a special time enjoyed by both groups.
Angie Dzikoski, a retired educator, described her time tutoring by saying, “As a retired educator it is a pleasure to spend time one-to-one working with students. It is a much more relaxed environment than a classroom where I am able to help each student with their specific needs, while learning about them as individuals. A very rewarding way for me to spend my time personally and professionally.”
Marty Faut admitted it may be a little more fun for her than her students. Mary says, “Spending time with sixth and seventh graders has always been a positive experience. My fellow tutors agree that WE get more out of the tutoring.”
After a quick chat with students, it was clear they also enjoy the time. Andrea Padilla spoke of her tutor saying, “My favorite part is that we read a lot of interesting books. It also helps me a lot in my ELA class, and on my MAP testing. Honestly, I went up in my MAP test and in my ELA class I am improving.”