ALGreaterPlacer-Nuggets

Written by Julie Sage  &         Janet Wheatley, 2016-17 Chairman    

The words printed on the appreciation award state:

 “You never know what light you might spark in others by your kindness”.

    Jan Krug                        Linda Dorety

As the school year ended for Alta Vista School in Auburn, teacher Christina Cowan and her students presented a plaque to two of Assistance League of Greater Placer’s Tutor Time volunteers. Jan and Linda completed the second year of tutoring for Mrs. Cowan, with her kindergarten class and then as first graders. They worked with small groups of children and felt that was very effective. Each tutored two days per month, alternating weeks so that one of them was there each week.

Jan Krug shares how her volunteering support to this class gave her the support she needed in return…

“In January 2016 I suffered a serious accident while on vacation in South America that landed me in the hospital in Concepcion, Chile. One day, to my immense surprise, a photo arrived in my email inbox from my “friends” in the kindergarten class at Alta Vista School in Auburn via Christina Cowan, the teacher. This “get well” greeting more than made my day!  It brought tears to my eyes!  I was grateful beyond words. The same class then went on to prepare a “get well” booklet for me with pictures and stories drawn and composed by each student. It was fun to see myself “in the hospital” as conceived and drawn by each!”

 (Classroom Get Well Photo-children’s faces blurred on purpose)

Tutor Time is such a wonderful and rewarding project. If you LOVE kids, but don’t want to take them home, Tutor Time is for you!”  Jan Krug, 2017-18 Chairman

Assistance League of Greater Placer provides Placer County area elementary school children with on-site volunteer tutors through our Tutor Time philanthropic program.

Tutor Time, originally called “Intensive Tutoring,” was started at Rock Creek School in Auburn in 1989.  It was very well received and expanded quickly. This year the program includes Rock Creek School, Twelve Bridges School, Alta Vista School, Auburn Elementary School, and Skyridge School-all in Placer County.

TWENTY-TWO tutors and 1 substitute, all Assistance League of Greater Placer members, work with one student at a time, or with several in a reading group. Most of the tutoring is in reading, although some math is included, as requested by the teacher. The commitment is just one day a month; several members choose to tutor twice a month or even weekly.  We tutored in 11 classes, in grades Kindergarten through 3^rd.  The Tutor Time Program served 265 students totaling 932 donated hours from our tutor volunteers.

At the end of the school year, each student, in the classes where we tutored, was given a book to take home, along with a personalized bookmark. The books were labeled inside the front cover, indicating they were gifts of Assistance League of Greater Placer. We also gave books to students in classes where we did not tutor, but who were the same grade as one we tutored.  In all, 451 books were given to students for summertime reading.

Assistance League of Greater Placer’s volunteer tutors have the time and patience to increase students’ self-esteem and provide the opportunity for academic success.  Tutors help make learning fun.  Their constant visits to the classrooms help the students feel comfortable and more at ease.  Learning core subjects like reading, math, and language skills make a significant difference in a child’s life.