Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Kids get virtual reading help from RSVP and United Way
RSVP has retooled two reading programs, one for preschoolers and one for elementary students, to link children with volunteer tutors online. The nonprofit is piloting both programs this summer and could substantially expand them when school resumes in September.
“We’re preparing for the fall,” said Michele Moll, RSVP’s executive director. “No matter how schools reopen, they will have restrictions on outsiders coming in. Through these programs, we can add value and provide resources from home.”
In previous years, RSVP volunteers have gone to schools to tutor nearly 700 preschool kids in partnership with Head Start, and some 1,900 students in grades K-5 through the America Reads program.
The new virtual version of these programs link volunteers and students using desktop, laptop or tablet computers in their homes. They include:
The Virtual Family Literacy Program for children ages 3-5 uses a Scholastic program called BookFlix that pairs a fiction and nonfiction book. For example, after the volunteer and child read “Monkeys and Other Animals,” the child is treated to the story “Curious George Rides a Bike.”
“‘Curious George’ is the hook,” said Julie Brown, an RSVP literacy coordinator. “After you’re finished reading about monkeys and have a lesson about beginning sounds and punctuation, the ‘Curious George’ story reinforces that books are fun and their entertainment value is unmatched.”
The early readers receive two 20-minute tutoring sessions per week.
Volunteers must pass all clearances required by the state of Pennsylvania, including criminal and child abuse background checks. Online training and tips to help improve students’ emergent reading skills are provided to volunteers.
“We explain the nuts and bolts of how they connect with the student, how to read with them and make the most of the experience,” Brown said. “We also offer to do practice sessions.”
RSVP provides both the student and tutor with a Zoom meeting link. The student’s parents have been coached on how to call up and share the reading material with the volunteer.
The Virtual Reading Program uses a United Way-developed platform, Vello, to provide kids in grades 1-5 with a selection of books matched to their reading level in a learning program called Raz-Kids. Together, a student
BookFLix pairs a book about monkeys with a “Curious George” story. and volunteer tutor read through the book, then discuss questions in a quiz. The program tracks each student’s reading progress and features a report to parents.
After clearing background checks, volunteers watch training videos on the Vello website and receive worksheets, discussion questions and other material. They then choose a student to tutor twice each week for 30 minutes from an online calendar. Sessions take place Monday through Thursday, 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.
During the summer pilot program, a second “host” volunteer, who launches the Zoom meeting on his or her computer, participates in each tutoring session.
“All of the volunteers and parents have my contact information, so I can help out with any concerns,” said Jackie Matusow, an RSVP literacy coordinator.
“I practiced on RazKids with my grandson,” said Marion Silver, who coordinates the elementary-level program with Matusow. “The photographs in the books are astonishing. We read the book about fossils — and animal poop. He was hysterical for 15 minutes.”
Can you volunteer?
Moll said the two virtual reading programs need at least 80 volunteers starting in September.
“We hope anyone interested will contact us by mid-August,” she said.
For more information or to volunteer, email volunteer123@rsvpmc. org, call 610-834-1040, ext. 123, or visit rsvpmc. org/volunteer-1 and click “Sign up for Volunteering.”
Volunteers should enjoy reading with children, be comfortable using email and internet links and have a desktop, laptop or tablet computer.
“It helps to have patience and a sense of humor,” Silver said.
In the early reading program, “the challenge is to keep a preschooler in front of the screen and interested for 20 minutes,” Brown said, “but they’re cuties.”
Meg Costa tutored students at the Lower Gwynedd Elementary School through the America Reads program before the pandemic shut it down.
“I love the one-to-one relationship with the children,” she said.
She began helping kids read five years ago because “I knew I had to have a purpose to my day” after she retired from providing student services at Gwynedd Mercy University.
Isabell Cardonick tutors 4-year-old Hoda in the early reading program.
“I’m ecstatic,” she said. “I’m a retired kindergarten teacher, and I miss it terribly. Being able to work one-on-one with a child made this pandemic go away for half an hour. Hoda was just so precious.”
When she taught in the Philadelphia public schools, an RSVP volunteer assisted Cardonick.
“She and I are still friendly,” Cardonick said. “Once I retired, I looked into volunteering myself.”
She became an America Reads volunteer, but stopped to co-author a book on teaching early learners to write, then learned of RSVP’s virtual tutoring pilot programs this summer.
“I love everything about it,” she said. “I love how the books are paired. There’s so much you can do in making connections between the two books. You can talk about what the books have in common. You can ask the child to make predictions, what do you think will happen next.”
The United Way partnership
Moll said the partnership with United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey began last year when the organization was planning to introduce Vello in several area elementary schools. Under the sponsorship of Wells Fargo, United Way supplied a classroom computer to link students with volunteers tutoring from home. RSVP offered to provide volunteers.
“Right off the bat, we had 50 people sign up,” she said.
The program launched in February “and we only had a few sections up and running before the pandemic hit,” said Moll.
United Way’s Phoenix chapter is spearheading the adoption of Vello to link volunteers with students at home rather than in a classroom. Prior to the pandemic, some 16 United Way regional offices were using or planning to use Vello in public schools in conjunction with local sponsors.
“The program is definitely scalable,” Moll said. “We can expand. It’s a great way to engage volunteers, especially seniors who might not feel safe volunteering outside of their homes right now.
“RSVP volunteers have always loved reading with children and helping them learn. It’s a very rewarding experience.”
Nonprofit RSVP connects volunteers to dozens of community service opportunities, primarily in Montgomery, Delaware and Chester counties. Its programs improve the lives of vulnerable populations in the community by focusing on education and wellness.