Mentoring 1999/2000 - Grade Proposal

-- Anonymous, April 30, 2000

Answers

Mentoring in the 1999-2000 School Year

For the last two years I have been a tutor with the Wrap Around Program. This program is a collaborative project between Independent School District #361 and Koochiching County Community Services, which was created in June of 1998. The tutoring segment of the Wrap Around program serves as a support system for at-risk children who require additional academic assistance to maintain success in school.

Tutoring took place on Mondays and Thursdays from 3:20 to 4:30 p.m. and ran from October to May. As a sixth grade teacher, I was happy to work with sixth graders this year, because I was naturally familiar with the material and had the necessary manuals. To help out the tutoring staff, students were provided an assignment sheet by their classroom teacher and were instructed to come prepared to work.

Sixth grade can be extremely difficult and challenging for many students for various reasons. The number of subjects, as well as their work load, increases and students are expected to be more responsible and organized. As a result, many students have a harder time adjusting and maintaining pace. Difficulties include keeping up and doing well academically, turning in quality work, transitioning from one subject to another, using higher order thinking skills effectively, and maintaining organization.

I feel all my tutoring relationships this year have been very positive, as well as beneficial for the students. Although four of the students I tutored were from my own classroom, Ive enjoyed spending time and getting to know some of the other students. Making a difference in these students lives by helping them with their assignments, giving guidance and support, listening to them, and just being there for them has been invaluable to my students and to myself.

Once again, I look forward to working with the Wrap Around program this coming summer. The summer program runs for six weeks and takes place two days a week for three hours. Being done by noon works out well for everyone because it doesnt interfere with too much of the day. Im especially looking forward to the field trips which are always interesting and entertaining and give students the incentive to work hard as well as something to look forward to.

-- Anonymous, April 30, 2000