Blog

Maliha Gains Confidence, Excels in Math

By Eric Steckel
June 30, 2022

You Made Math “Easy” For an Eager Child

Maliha* was low on confidence in reading and math. And confidence makes such a difference in a child’s ability to learn difficult math concepts. It is also something that can be difficult to recover once it is lost.

Maliha lacked confidence and struggled with math. Thanks to dedicated work with Mr. Jim, “math is easy.”

Will you complete HER Circle of Care?

Through one-on-one reading and math tutoring, and family support, you will nurture an eager child in a circle of care so they may succeed in school.

Yes, I want to uplift a child in school today!

Like 60% of elementary school children in California, Maliha was significantly behind grade level in math. It is a problem that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Second- and third-grade students came back to full-time, in-person classrooms all over the curve in terms of what they had learned. It is difficult to create a lesson plan that engages and instructs children at different levels. Factor in the added strain of learning through the peaks and valleys of an ongoing global pandemic, and it’s easy to see how students and teachers have struggled this year.

“Children Rising has been able to provide the one-on-one support in math and reading our students and teachers desperately needed.“– Roma Groves-Waters, Principal, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary

Roma Groves-Waters, Principal at Maliha’s school, agrees. “Our teachers are challenged this year more than ever before. Children Rising has been able to provide the one-on-one support in math and reading our students and teachers desperately needed.“

Confidence Is Important to Child Learning

When Maliha joined Path2Math in October, she was eager to learn and made an instant connection with Mr. Jim, her tutor. The first thing they worked on was building up the young girl’s confidence.

Your support of one-on-one tutoring helps children like Maliha find a safe space to learn. Student connections are key to a child’s progress.

“Making student connections to learning is key to student progress,” said Mrs. Groves-Waters.

Confident and happy, Maliha had found her safe space. She worked hard each week and was encouraged to express herself. Before long, what had been so difficult became “easy.”

“Math is easy because you’ve been working so hard,” Mr. Jim explained to the young girl. “You’ve been focused and putting your studies first.”

Maliha will continue with online tutoring during the Summer. With focus and hard work, she will reach grade level in math.

It costs just $500 to empower an eager child with comprehension and confidence in math for an entire school year. Thank you!

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

* Children Rising respects the privacy of our students. While all the stories we share are genuine and true, we change names and use stock photography when needed to protect student privacy.

Perspectives — The Right to Read

By Jim Wambach
June 29, 2022

“Ensure that every Oakland child is an ‘on-time’ reader provided with full LITERACY: a fundamental civil right, a powerful protection from the school to prison pipeline, and the cornerstone for a life of choice and fulfillment.” – Kareem Weaver, Co-Founder, FULCRUM

EVERY child should be able to read with confidence and read to learn—this is a fundamental human right and a foundational element for social justice.

The time for the broader community to support the schools, the kids, and their families is now. Never before have we had so many children in Oakland reading so far below grade level. We can point to COVID as the reason, but we know thousands of Oakland’s first-, second-, and third-grade children could not read before COVID. Many more children are struggling now.

Your gifts will help double the weekly tutoring sessions each child receives and grow the number of families that can confidently provide in-home literacy support.

Will you complete HER Circle of Care?

Through one-on-one reading and math tutoring, and family support, you will nurture an eager child in a circle of care so they may succeed in school.

Yes, I want to uplift a child in school today!

Your Gifts Support High-dosage Tutoring

High-dosage tutoring is widely recognized as an effective intervention and a smart investment by schools and the community to support equitable learning recovery. Tutoring must be evidence-based and supplement quality instruction, especially for children who have experienced significant learning loss as a result of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the children most in need of this intervention are unlikely to have access to high-quality and high-dosage tutoring.

“Family empowerment—making it possible for families to have the confidence and the right tools to support their children academically—is crucial.”

Succeeding by Reading, Children Rising’s early literacy program, is focused on second- and third-graders attending schools in our lowest-income neighborhoods who haven’t yet learned to read. The program curriculum and tools embrace the five critical components of early literacy—phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. It is also rigorously structured to equip volunteer tutors with the confidence and knowledge to systematically grow foundational literacy skills in every child tutored.

Family empowerment—making it possible for families to have the confidence and the right tools to support their children academically—is crucial. The same tools and training used to equip our volunteer reading tutors are now being made available to the families of the children in our reading program.

Our Community Needs to Act

Our goal this year is to double the weekly tutoring sessions each child receives and grow the number of families that can confidently provide in-home literacy support. Combined, both provide the high-dosage tutoring support so critically necessary to help our kids catch up as quickly as possible.

This is an urgent community need. It requires substantially larger numbers of volunteers from the community. If you have an interest in transforming a child’s life while strengthening your community, consider providing the gift of literacy. Watching a child’s confidence grow as they become readers is as special as it gets—and we can make it easy for you to make it happen!

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Taniya Finds Her Safe Space

By Children Rising
June 29, 2022

Your Support Helps Her Learn to Read

Jeannette Brantley came to Children Rising in 2019 as a volunteer tutor, looking to offer something back to her Oakland community. That year of tutoring was the first round of her “initiation into the Children Rising community.” Jeannette joined the Succeeding by Reading staff as Associate Program Coordinator and feels blessed to have met so many eager young students and caring, committed tutors. She recently shared the story of Taniya* and Angela.

Miss Angela made Taniya feel “seen, heard, and valued.” The trust they formed made Taniya feel safe and eager to learn.

My experience as an SbR tutor and program coordinator allows me to contribute my time and abilities to children in under-served schools, offering nurturing support to get them to become proficient in reading. Over time, I found it was as much about my learning as it was for my students. I learned to meet each student where they were. Students often arrived with trauma that was unknown to me—unspoken and all too often unacknowledged. At times, a child’s actions spoke of a need for a safe space to be seen and heard before the work of learning could occur. I needed to listen to hurts that were not always articulated in words.

Will you complete HER Circle of Care?

Through one-on-one reading and math tutoring, and family support, you will nurture an eager child in a circle of care so they may succeed in school.

Yes, I want to uplift a child in school today!

Taniya Blossoms in School, Thanks to You

This past year, I have witnessed Taniya, a third-grader in a West Oakland elementary school, blossom in her reading skills after working with her tutor, Miss Angela. Initially, Taniya did not buy into the tutoring, but she continued to attend with other students from her class who were in the clinic.

“Our work extends beyond the mechanics of reading and includes all the elements of demonstrating care for the kids we serve.” – Jeannette Brantley, Associate Program Coordinator

Angela has worked with some of our more challenging students, many of whom lack confidence in their ability to learn to become better readers. That often shows up as a reluctance to read. Angela was able to engage with Taniya because of her patience. She gave Taniya space and time to share whatever she needed to share before they would begin. Taniya felt seen, heard, and valued. More importantly, she came to know that she could trust her tutor, who was a new person in her life. Taniya felt safe in our reading clinic.

Hard Work and Caring Support Pay Off

Your support of Succeeding by Reading provides an eager child with a one-on-one reading tutor. The relationship builds confidence in the student, so they become confident readers.

With her hard work and the care extended to her, Taniya went on to read at our highest reading zone. In our year-end assessment, she tested at grade level.

“Team Taniya” Y’all Rock! It proves once again that we teach our students the foundations needed to become proficient readers. Still, our work extends beyond the mechanics of reading and includes all the elements of demonstrating care for the kids we serve. It’s fundamental to our work.

An hour a week with a struggling child builds self-esteem and helps them blossom into a confident reader.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

* Children Rising respects the privacy of our students. While all the stories we share are genuine and true, we change names and use stock photography when needed to protect student privacy.

6 Ways Volunteers Support Effective High-Dosage Tutoring

By Eric Steckel
June 23, 2022

Children Rising Programs Contribute to Recovery From Unfinished Learning

Tutoring, and in particular, high-dosage tutoring, has emerged as one of the leading solutions to overcoming unprecedented levels of unfinished learning brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteer tutoring programs like Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math provide opportunities for community members to step in, be part of this leading-edge solution, and support student recovery.

Trained, supported volunteer tutors contribute to high-dosage learning strategies and support children in their recovery from unfinished learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for all students. According to an April 2021 report by McKinsey, “on average, students are five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading by the end of the (2020-2021) school year.” Unfinished learning is even greater for children and youth in under-resourced schools, especially Black, Latino, and English learners.

The Department of Education is urging schools to provide up to 90-minutes of tutoring per week. High-dosage tutoring is generally defined as one-on-one or small group tutoring at least three times per week, totaling about 100 hours of tutoring during the school year. Unfortunately, students most in need of high-dosage tutoring are least likely to have access to a tutor.

Will you complete HER Circle of Care?

Through one-on-one reading and math tutoring, and family support, you will nurture an eager child in a circle of care so they may succeed in school.

Yes, I want to uplift a child in school today!

Evidence-based High-dosage Tutoring Is Key to Success

Not all tutoring strategies stack up equally. A recent study by the Education Trust highlights effective strategies for implementing high-dosage tutoring. While they stress that state involvement in implementing programming leads to better outcomes, Children Rising programs are uniquely designed to contribute to high-dosage learning strategies and support children in their recovery from unfinished learning.

A recent study by the Education Trust highlights effective strategies for implementing high-dosage tutoring. Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math incorporate many of the components of effective high-dosage tutoring. (Graphic courtesy The Education Trust)

Six Features of Evidence-based High-dosage Tutoring Programs

The following six features are components Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math share with effective, evidence-based tutoring programs.

1. 1:1 Student:Tutor Ratio – High-dosage tutoring works best with a ratio of one tutor for one or two children. Children Rising has long advocated one-on-one tutoring, where caring adults develop trusting relationships with students. The result leads to accelerated learning. Indeed, 70% of our students who receive 20 or more sessions of one-on-one reading tutoring advance two or more grade levels by the end of the year.
2. Skill-building curriculum – Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math are skill-based programs where tutors focus on incrementally building literacy and numeracy skills such as phonics and vocabulary for reading and grade-leveled algebra and geometry skills for numeracy. This approach is evidence-based and has been found to be most effective.
3. Training and Supervision – Effective programs provide pre-service training, ongoing training, and on-site supervision for tutors. Children Rising provides structured training and support so tutors can be effective from day one. It also leads to a high retention rate of 75%, leading to a more experienced pool of tutors.
4. In-School – In-school, teacher-coordinated pull-out sessions have proven most effective with students and have been a hallmark of Children Rising programs.
5. All year – Children Rising tutors stay with a child throughout the academic school year, providing consistent, caring instruction.
6. Younger students – Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math focus on second- and third-grade students, an age most educators feel is crucial to future academic learning.

Community Opportunities to Overcome Unfinished Learning.

As we continue to work with Oakland Unified School District and our school partners, we see an opportunity for the community to contribute to providing high-dosage tutoring and supporting child learning. To be successful, it will require many more caring community members to come alongside these eager children.

Our goal this year is to double the weekly tutoring sessions each child receives and grow the number of families that can confidently provide their children with in-home literacy support. Combined, both provide the high-dosage tutoring support so critically necessary to help our kids quickly become engaged, confident students—so crucial for their future growth and success in school.

If you are interested in volunteering, learn more about opportunities with Children Rising.

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!