My Experience at FLOC (Libby’s Report)

Libby is a FLOC 8th grader and future journalist. She’s reporting to us today from the Saturday Afternoon Reading program. Here’s Libby:

Hello, my name is Libby, and I’m in the eighth grade. Today, I will be telling about my experience in FLOC and how it helps me learn.

This year, I have learned a lot in FLOC. I have improved in my vocabulary and in my reading in school. My teachers were really excited when I improved in my reading. I think FLOC is a great place for someone who needs help with reading or math. I also improved on my writing because my tutor Sarah and I do journaling. Journaling is when you have to pick a subject and write about it and then your tutor checks for any mistakes and how you can improve. I think improvements will help me because I want to become a journalist or a lawyer, but for each one you need reading and writing. FLOC is the best place to improve on reading or math.

My favorite memory of FLOC is when I met Sarah. Sarah was really nice to me when I met her and that was my favorite memory because it was the first time meeting someone from the government (Sarah works for government when she’s not volunteering). Sarah is really a understanding person. She’s nice, caring, radical, makes delicious cookies and is THE BEST TUTOR EVER!!! If Sarah is in FLOC next year I hope I’ll be with her again.

In conclusion, I think anyone who reads this should take my advice because FLOC is a great way to catch up to your education.

Middle School Pen Pals

For the third year in a row, FLOC Scholars in Washington have been pen pals this semester with FLOC Leaders in Action students in West Virginia. These middle schoolers live less than two hours away from one another, but those 70 miles represent a significant difference between the urban environment of DC and the rural environment of Jefferson County. As program wraps up this month in both places, we thought we’d take a look back at the letters these middle school students have written over the last few months and the relationships they’ve formed in the process.

The letters begin with lots of questions:

“What is your school like?”  “What is your favorite thing to do outside?” “What do you want to do when you grow up?” “Who likes Chick-fil-a?” “Do you like to read? Do you like to play? Do you like homework?”

And continue with requested answers:

“When I grow up, I want to be an underwater mechanic.” “My winter break was good. I did watch The Hunger Games. It was good, but it was a bit sad.” “We’ve missed about a week and a half of school because of snow. We went sledding, snowboarding, and shoveled snow.” 

They’re chatty, inquisitive, friendly, and colorful, punctuated with drawings and P.S.’s and  jokes. They talk about their favorite foods and TV shows, video games and YouTube stars, Star Wars and Deadpool and Alvin and the Chipmunks, winter break snow and spring break plans. They shatter misconceptions (No, the West Virginians don’t live in barns. Yes, there are places to sled in DC.) There’s even a little touch of election politics conversation.

Most of all, it’s clear that for all these students live in different communities, they have a lot more in common than not. It’s also clear that friendships are blossoming via their writing.

“It has been a good experience to communicate with you… I hope to see you in summer camp.”

(Elizabeth Metz is the Recruitment and Outreach Manager at FLOC.)

Meet Marley

Marley is an energetic third grader who has participated in FLOC’s Neighborhood Tutoring Program for two years now. One of her favorite things about FLOC is “how fun it is” to work with her math tutor, Kristen. The pair often plays a game like memory to practice math facts like multiplication or division. Working with her tutor is certainly paying off; last quarter, Marley received 4s in math on her report card, a mark that correlates with excellent work. “I’m trying to get a 4 in reading on my next report card,” she said excitedly. “We’re going to have a pretend spelling bee so that I can keep learning new words.”

Marley said that coming to FLOC has made her more comfortable participating in class, because she’s confident that she can answer her teacher’s questions without hesitation. She hopes to continue attending FLOC programs as she gets older, since “everyone is so kind, and they make learning a lot of fun.”

(Samantha Bailey is the Bilingual Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator at FLOC.)

Welcome to Savoy!

This school year at FLOC has been the start of a new partnership with Savoy Elementary in Anacostia. While this is a smaller program it allows us to work in a school to help kids who may not otherwise be able to make it to the FLOC office. With FLOC being during Savoy’s after school program, the kids are already out of class by the time we get there and there are always a couple kids waiting excited. There are very few things better in tutoring than seeing kids excited for tutoring.

One student in particular is not the biggest fan of reading but her tutor decided that one way to get her more interested in reading was to have her create her own story. Each week they spend time working on the story making sure she has proper grammar and that the story is making sense. This has allowed her to grow her own sense of creative thinking and help the tutor discover more about what she is interested in. Seeing all of the different ways to get these kids to learn without them necessarily feeling like they are in standard classroom  has been a lot of fun.  Not only are these kids enjoying the one on one contact but the tutors are having a lot of fun getting to know the kids and learning what works and doesn’t work.

There are four months left in the school year and it will be interesting to see how much these students improve in this time and how that directly affect their grades and progress in school.

(Nicole Morgenstern is an NTP site coordinator, working with FLOC’s tutoring programs on Tuesdays and Thursdays and on Wednesday afternoons at Savoy Elementary.)

Meet Tom and Jess: Tutors & Team Leaders

For nearly 20 years, FLOC has had an invaluable partnership with George Washington University’s DC Reads program, a program of the Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service. Through this partnership, GW students (both volunteers and federal work study employees) are placed as tutors in nonprofits like FLOC. This year,  more than 30 GW DC Reads tutors are placed at FLOC.

Tom Guettler and Jess Williams are serving this year as team leaders for FLOC through the DC Reads program, and they both tutor reading at FLOC during the week.

How did you first become involved with For Love of Children?

Tom: I first heard about FLOC through Community Building Community, which is a pre-orientation program for freshman at GW. FLOC sounded like a great way to get involved in the DC community, and some of the guides had great things to say about DC reads as a whole!

Jess: I was looking for a way to get involved in community service when I came to GW, and some friends told me about DC Reads! From there, I chose to work with FLOC, because I was shocked that a city as educated as Washington, DC still has such a high illiteracy rate among children.

What does being a DC Reads Team Leader entail? What do you enjoy about it?

Tom: Generally speaking, we help promote FLOC and generate student interest. Jess and I are also here to be a resource for the GW students who work at FLOC. We help students with their federal work-study arrangements, rescheduling trainings, and facilitate contacting the FLOC office.

Jess: I really enjoy being a resource for students, and having people come to me for help! As coordinators, we also host events within the GW FLOC community. We’ll have movie nights where we share food and watch an educational film, and recently we had a reflection event. Students brought food, and we spent the afternoon discussing out tutoring experiences and sharing stories.

Speaking of reflection, do you have a favorite FLOC memory?

Tom: Last winter, my schedule changed and I wasn’t going to be able to tutor the same student anymore. After I had told both my student and site-coordinator, I ended up changing classes, and was able to return on the same day the following semester. My student was expecting to have a new tutor, and he was excited when I showed up! The coordinator had not told him I was returning, and it meant a lot to know that he cared about having me as a tutor, specifically.

Jess: My story is similar! Last year, I was explaining to my student that I had to go home for summer break. She became a little upset, and repeatedly said she would miss me, asking why I had to leave. I hadn’t realized how close we had become in such a short amount of time, but it meant a lot that she cared whether or not I was there.

Imagine you have sixty seconds to convince someone to tutor with FLOC. What do you say?

Tom: Do it! Tutoring with FLOC has changed the preconceived notions I had about non-profits–FLOC is well-organized, easy to work with, and makes a tangible impact. Tutoring is a wonderful way to give back to the community, and you grow as a person as well.

Jess: Tutoring with FLOC is an excellent way to get out of the “Foggy Bottom bubble,” that you so often hear about here. There is so much more to DC than our neighborhood, and I’m proud to say that I’m invested here. I feel as though I’ve become a citizen of DC, not just a student.

(Samantha Bailey is the Bilingual Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator at FLOC.)

9th Annual Book Festival

On Saturday, November 14th, the holiday season officially kicked off for FLOC students as they were able to take home as many free books as they could carry (with the help of parents and tote bags). FLOC held its 9^th Annual Book Festival, which aims to further foster a love of reading by growing our students’ libraries. Thanks to the hard work and generous donations of partners, we were able to offer almost 1,500 books to our students. In addition to the book giveaway, Karen Legget Abouraya, author of Malala Yousafzai: Warrior with Words, spoke to students about the importance of education and fighting for what’s important. Inspired by Malala’s courage to fight for her right to an education, students made pledges about what they will stand up for. After the presentation, students were given their own copy of Warrior with Words and were able to meet the author to have her sign their copy.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The PBS Kids character Super Why, who has students use their reading comprehension skills to solve mysteries, also made an appearance to meet and take pictures with the students. PBS local affiliate WHUT brought along iPads for students to try out new reading apps, which allowed students to have fun while also improving their reading skills.

In the book room, students filled up their WHUT tote bags with as many books as they wanted, with many students getting so excited that they needed extra bags to hold them all. Staff members and volunteers were on hand to give book recommendations to curious students, using the opportunity to reflect on their favorite books from childhood. From Dr. Seuss to Diary of a Wimpy Kid to The Autobiography of Malcolm X, kids of all ages were able to either start or grow their own personal library.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

FLOC could not have held this event without the support of our sponsors, Alderson Court Reporting, Reingold LINK, and Sedgwick LLP. Additional support was provided by our generous hosts, the Pepco Edison Place Gallery and by PBS affiliate WHUT. We also are thankful to WHUT for bringing Super Why, iPads with reading apps, and tote bags for the students to take their books home in.

Lastly, we want to give an additional thank you to all those who donated the 1,500 books that we were able to give away. All of our event sponsors listed above held book drives to contribute, as did the Advisory Board Company and SIGAL Construction Companies. Additional books were provided by First Book, Friends of George Mason Regional Library, and by individual board members and friends of the organization. Many thanks to all for helping make this event a success!

(Lauren Phipps is the Curriculum Coordinator for the Neighborhood Tutoring Program.)

Meet Miriam

Miriam Bishop serves as a tutor with the FLOC Neighborhood Tutoring Program. In this role, she tutors a student named Alex on Tuesday evenings in reading. She has been a tutor at FLOC since March of 2011. Miriam loves the documented success rates and hearing what a difference FLOC has made in students’ lives.

Miriam is an attorney with Willkie Farr & Gallagher (WF&G). FLOC has been a principal grantee of the WF&G Foundation for many years. Miriam first heard about FLOC through the WF&G Foundation newsletter that is circulated within the firm. Miriam went to the FLOC annual fund-raising luncheon that year and was very impressed by the presentation and the work that FLOC does. After attending the luncheon, she began to explore ways to volunteer.

This year Miriam worked with a 4^th grade student named Alex. Alex is very intelligent, very active, and very energetic. Alex brings a lot of enthusiasm with him to tutoring, though he sometimes has difficulty staying focused and on task. Miriam works on several things with Alex, including vocabulary, reading and sight words.

Miriam loves to see that children are really learning. She particularly enjoys that look of happiness that comes over their faces when they suddenly “get” a new idea or concept.

Miriam has participated in various FLOC activities held at WF&G’s offices. She has also been to graduation parties and the Outdoor Education Center. In addition to her work as an attorney and her time at FLOC, Miriam is an avid garden. She had flower gardens, vegetable gardens, fruit trees and bushes, and indoor plants, such as orchids, Christmas cacti, and ferns.

Thanks, Miriam, for your years of service to For Love of Children!

(Vanessa Hanible is the Recruitment and Outreach Associate.)

Yet Another Summer Reading List

Hey FLOC community! Today, we’re kicking off our summer learning academies with the first day of summer reading tutoring. We’ve learned that summer learning and summer reading are incredibly important for our students, but it’s a great time for adults to do some reading, too. Don’t let summer go by without picking up at least a few new good books. Here is a list of interesting reads that are sure to get you through the summer.

In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

In the Unlikely Event is iconic author Judy Blume’s highly anticipated first novel for adults in over 15 years. Set in New Jersey where Blume witnessed a bizarre series of plane crashes during her childhood, In the Unlikely Event is an imaginative story spanning three generations of characters, and a charming portrait of the mid-20th century.

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

Go Set a Watchman is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee’s follow-up to To Kill a Mockingbird, and one of the most anticipated books this summer. Set in the mid-1950s, Go Set a Watchman follows the beloved characters from To Kill a Mockingbird as they struggle with both personal and political problems two decades later.

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

A psychological thriller about a girl named Rachel who witnesses a shocking event which inserts her into the lives of strangers. The book is a real page-turner with lots of twists, amplified by the shifting perspectives of the three main characters. Hard to put down!

Mr. Penumbra’s 24–Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan

When an ancient mythical fantasy world meets high–tech Google. An eccentric bookstore tucked away in San Francisco proves that magic can still exist in the digital world. For: booklovers who cherish a manual typewriter as much as their iPad

Woman With a Secret’ by Sophie Hannah If you’re looking for your next addictive thriller, meet Sophie Hannah and her character Nicki Clements. (Guess what: Nicki has a secret!) Skilled suspense-writer Hannah will sweep you into Nicki’s world — and you won’t want to get out until you’ve reached the very last page. Good luck to anyone trying to pry this one from your hands.

Infinite Home by Kathleen Alcott

If you’re away from where you live and the people you love this summer, your required reading is Infinite Home, which gets at the heart of what the word “home” is about — both in terms of the physical place and the feeling. You’ll read about Brooklyn landlord Edith and her tenants, and what they when their home is threatened. Prepare to be moved, because this one will reach deep inside of you.

The Martian by Andy Weir

This is the story of funny, smart, and incredibly resourceful astronaut Mark Watney who gets stranded on Mars. You will not be able to put this book down, which makes it perfect summer reading to me. The movie comes out in November, which is another reason to pick this up this summer.  

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

This is a such a unique narrative about a young boy, Daniel, who finds a book he loves and sets out to track down the author. But he soon finds that someone else is also hunting the same books — in order to destroy them. The Shadow of the Wind becomes an adventure that Daniel could never have dreamed of, introducing him to characters both wonderful and terrifying along the way. This book is splendidly written — and incredibly quotable too!

(Queen Travers is the Program Coordinator for the Neighborhood Tutoring Program.)

WNDC’s Dynamic Duo

Jasmin and her tutor Ashley Oakes have been breaking records in our WNDC testing room this year!

Jasmin is a student in our WNDC – Tuesday night reading program and in the Scholars program. She has passed many tests in the Wilson curriculum and has added new words to her vocabulary such as frolic, compliance, occurrence, and more.

Jasmin began this year in Unit 2, Lesson 1 in the Wilson curriculum and will end at the beginning of Unit 4, Lesson 1. She has shown a lot of dedication to improving her reading skills and works very well with her tutor. This is Jasmin’s fourth year with FLOC, and she says it has been the best one yet.

Ashley has also enjoyed her time at FLOC and credits a former colleague for recommending the program to her. As the oldest sibling from a large family, Ashley often draws from experiences of tutoring/mentoring her siblings while working with Jasmin. They both are excited to return to FLOC next year and continue to work together!

(Felise Ortiz is a site coordinator for the Neighborhood Tutoring Program, including in the Tuesday night program at the Woman’s National Democratic Club.)

Spring Successes in Saturday Reading

Spring is definitely a busy time here at FLOC. Within the past couple of weeks, we’ve had several new students and tutors start during our Saturday PM Reading Program. Students are starting and finishing new chapter books each week. This past week, Maniyah and her tutor finished reading The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Additionally, I’ve been impressed by how much our students have been testing. Testing is one of the ways FLOC sees that a student understands the material and can move onto more challenging concepts. Our last two reading sessions, our testing list has been two solid pages. During our last tutoring session, our testers gave a total of 31 tests!

We had a friendly competition start between two of our middle school students, Gabriel and Nata, in the reading program. Gabriel and Nata (6^th and 8^th graders, respectively) were working together on their Wilson lessons, until we could find a sub for Nata. Gabriel passed his test with flying colors and so Nata and Gabriel parted ways. In the true spirit of competition, Nata wanted to test and be on the same lesson as Gabriel. Nata passed the test and wanted to test again in order to be farther in the curriculum. Nata passed a total of 3 Wilson tests in one day, while Gabriel found a new way to practice using his vocabulary words—by writing a letter trash-talking Nata. This playful competition challenged Gabriel to think about the multiple meanings of his vocabulary words and how to use them most effectively.

(Tamarae Hildebrandt is an NTP site coordinator for the Saturday Afternoon Reading program.)