Summer Language! Program – Jalen
Jalen has been involved in the Neighborhood Tutoring Program for several years. He’s well known around the office and will often steal away from the Student Room on tutoring nights to chat with staff members about whatever is going on in his life. This summer, Jalen is transitioning from elementary school to middle school. He is excited and nervous about this new part of his academic journey. One of the things that excites Jalen is that he will now be able to access more of the continuum of services FLOC offers. This summer, he was able to participate in his first overnight trip to FLOC’s Outdoor Education Center in West Virginia. When he returned, he shared story after story with his tutor, Michelle. The experience inspired several writing prompts, and propelled him to want to read more about nature and the outdoors. Because he was excited and had a personal connection with the material he was learning, he made remarkable improvement. In two of the three areas that FLOC assesses, Jalen made more than a year of growth. This is especially noteworthy since summer programming at FLOC lasts only six weeks. Everyone in the office is excited to watch as Jalen continues to advance and achieve academic success.
Summer Math Program- Aliyah
You can’t overstate the importance of focus. FLOC students are focused. They work with staff members, and volunteer tutors to make plans to achieve their goals. Aliyah, a rising 8th grader, provides an example of what can be achieved through hard work and focus. Everyone who worked with her this summer said the same thing, that it was like she made a decision to really buckle down and work. She moved through the curriculum at an impressive rate, passing 13 lessons over the course of 6 weeks. Her tutor had to work hard just to keep up with her. When the dust settled, she had made almost two years improvement in her fluency skills, and nearly three years of improvement in her general calculation abilities. Aliyah is focused on what she needs to do in order to find academic success, and if this summer is any indicator, she’ll be there in no time.
(Cody Laminack is the NTP Program Coordinator at FLOC)
