Volunteer Spotlight: START Literacy Tutors

In 2024, Goodman embarked on a journey to develop a new volunteer training experience unlike anything yet offered in the city of Madison. The goal was to create a semester-long intergenerational immersion residency program that would equip volunteers with the vital skills necessary to help children in our community learn how to read and improve their reading proficiency. Using a safe and judgement free setting, this program provided training where adults learn how to use their real-world, professional and personal experience to lead and teach students reading and literacy skills.

The pilot cohort consisted of ten volunteers who were willing to dedicate 3 hours of learning, 3 days per week, for 3 months of in-person training to become bonafide Science of Reading literacy tutors (Reading Simplified certified). Of these initial ten tutors, HALF stayed on, for not one, but two subsequent semesters to assess, co-create and envision further ways to grow the *START Tutor Residency program. These lead tutors have laid the foundation for a monumental literacy legacy. Through the lead tutors' collaborative efforts, they have not only developed innovative literacy lesson planning materials, toolkits, procedure guides and reading resources, but also have continued to coach, mentor and support new tutors entering the program. Due to the dedication, passion, and hard work of this brilliant team, Goodman has been able to train over 30 new volunteers within its first year of operation along with helping 18 students grow in their literacy skills.

The introduction of novel methods to reach and support students along their education pathways is long overdue in our educational system. Learning to read takes time, dedication and a supportive environment for most people to master. Students need ample opportunities to receive one-on-one time and attention with literate adults to help them succeed. Unfortunately, the reality is that most communities don't have the level of in-school support needed to provide students with the individualized instruction they need and deserve to combat the dismal state of youth literacy that has taken over the nation. That is what makes this group of volunteers and the *START program so incredible. This inaugural team has allowed the *START literacy initiative to expand, systematize and succeed in a way that was never dreamed of, in just its first year of existence.

A new era of reading intervention in our community is taking root. Volunteers can now enter our school systems, not simply as reading buddies, but as trained paraprofessional literacy tutors and educational assistants. For teachers who so desperately continue to seek solutions for students struggling to learn to read, trained literacy tutors willing to step-in, are a welcome breath of fresh air. They can start to serve as a sustaining life force in creating a truly literate community and society at large. We are so fortunate to have the *START LEAD TUTOR TEAM as volunteers at the Goodman Community Center, and we are so grateful for the change they are bringing to our community!