By Amelia Baxter, 2021-2022 Literacy First Tutor Today, my kindergarten student finished her 11th lesson and I decided to have her complete the mastery test to move onto the next section. Even though I wasn’t completely sure that she would pass, I decided to give it a try since she was having such a great day. […]
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Blog
From Student to Staff: Literacy First Tutor Shares Her Experience Returning to School
Literacy First’s District Capacity Building Model, as the name suggests, is designed to build the capacity of districts over time. One of the ways in which we see progress toward this goal is through employment of the local workforce within their community. Libni Sanchez is a Literacy First paraprofessional tutor in Del Valle ISD, working […]
Read MoreBuilding a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Organization
Equity is at the forefront of Literacy First’s organizational goals. Staff continued efforts in 2020-2021 to ensure the entire organization reflects this core value. The Literacy First DEI Committee met twice monthly to plan and execute initiatives, with the mission of meeting strategic plan goals to increase diversity, strengthen inclusion, and ensure racially equitable outcomes. Trained staff hosted “Civic Reflections” […]
Read MoreStudents Excel in Randomized Controlled Trial Study of Literacy First
Since its inception in 1994, Literacy First has invested in rigorous research to evaluate the impact of the program on student outcomes. Beginning in the 2017-2018 school year, the American Institutes for Research partnered with Literacy First to conduct an independent evaluation of the impact of participation in Literacy First on the early reading skills […]
Read MoreFormer Tutor Spotlight
Katie Van Winkle’s Service Comes Full Circle While working as a professor at Austin Community College (ACC), former Literacy First tutor Katie Van Winkle would interact with high school students participating in the Early College High School program (ECHS), an opportunity to obtain college credit while in high school. During one of her theatre classes, Katie […]
Read MoreKeep Wondering
By YiKen Jongerius I have a student who always brightens up my day, whether she knows it or not. For example, if we finish our lesson early then we will draw on the Whiteboard feature on Zoom. She loves to make up things for us to draw and even will give me a “grade” for my […]
Read MoreVirtual Reading Buddies
By Danielle Anderson, 2020-2021 Literacy First Tutor Working with students in a one-to-one setting with Literacy First gives us a special opportunity to really get to know our students and develop relationships with them. Not only does this help us better support our students and their learning, but it makes our work so much more […]
Read MoreA Grandparent and a Tutor
By Sylvia Rainey, 2020-2021 Literacy First Tutor The most gratifying statement I heard all year was from one of my second-grade students. “I finally got the hang of reading!” he announced proudly. This is a student who had started the school year struggling to read at 22 words-per-minute, and now he is able to read. […]
Read MoreMy Experience with Literacy First and Mindful AISD
Celeste discusses her experience serving remotely, both as a tutor and in her partnership creating mindfulness videos for AISD students.
Read MoreLearning I Want to Become a Teacher
By Celeste Tovar, 2020-2021 Literacy First Tutor My favorite aspect of my service experience has been learning how to tutor and teach from trained and experienced educators. This experience awakened something in me that made me realize I want to pursue a career in education and that I am capable of doing so. Before serving, […]
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