I am super excited to write my first blog as the new Bilingual Program Coordinator at FLOC. Although I have only been here for a month, I have participated in several fun activities and have observed some amazing tutor-student pairs. For example, I helped to coordinate the Trivia-Scream trip to Willkie Farr and Gallagher LLP, which was a lot of fun. The trivia questions brought back memories of watching the Magic School Bus cartoon show and reading Junie B. Jones books as a child. The students were so engaged in trying to answer the questions (and highly energized by all the ice cream) that they even attempted questions that I did not know the answer to – like how many pillars are on the Lincoln memorial?
Other than that trip, I helped to supervise both the Summer Math and Reading programs. As a supervisor, I got to see tutors and their students creatively tackle concepts while still having fun. Before I actually supervised, the interns told me that the only thing I could really prepare for was my flexibility – I needed to be open to trying new things and problem solving in different ways. It wasn’t until program started that I realized what that actually meant. I commend the interns and the tutors for running around, speaking to parents, getting supplies, testing students, sending feedback forms/congratulations certificates, getting snacks, and setting up the store, among other things. It was obvious to me how invested the tutors were in trying to help their students, especially as they stood nervously outside of the Fishbowl rooms as their students tested each day.
The last day of program was very emotional because I knew that the interns were leaving and that program would not start again for another couple of months. I had relied heavily on the interns to get me up to speed on the ins-and-outs of FLOC because of how competent they were and how willing they were to help me. It was very sad to see them go! What was great about the last few days, however, was administering the post-test. While I did not have the pleasure of grading all the tests, the interns let me know that a great number of our students made improvements this summer – which is excellent news!
All in all, I am glad I was able to start during the summer program because it gave some insight as to what the school year will bring. Hopefully, I will get to see some of the same hardworking tutors and students I met this summer at my programs!
(Aurin Agramonte is the NTP Bilingual Program Coordinator at FLOC)
