Gail EngstromI have been a volunteer tutor at the Community of Peace ... and being a part of the ESLC program has been extremely fulfilling. With every tutoring session I see a new spark of excitement about reading, whether it's because the child has sounded out a new word or is so excited about the topic of the book that it prompts him to talk about connections with his own experiences. The program is designed and implemented very skillfully, and it would be wonderful to see the program reach a greater number of students.
Mary MeyerI have been a volunteer tutor at the East Side Learning Center for a number of years. Everything about the ESLC is commendable -- the caring, helpful staff, friendly volunteers, prepared lesson plans, students eager to improve reading skills, and atmosphere most conducive to foster a love of reading.
Pam KasperI just recently started volunteering with this group at the Hope school in St. Paul. This is a well run program, well organized and put together with materials appealing to the children and easy for the volunteers. My site makes me feel welcome and gives purpose to my efforts. Every attempt to accommodate my needs was made. The children seem to really love coming and soak up the attention and personal one-to-one time.
Harry WerneckeWhat could be more important than helping all kids become competent, productive members of society? As a volunteer I am so impressed with the way kids enjoy the great materials we use--tools that were never dreamed of when I was a kid. To anyone familiar with it, the ESLC is obviously an outstanding program.
Ottavio SavinaI have been a volunteer tutor for the ESLC and it is so gratifying to see a student's pride and excitement when they do a reading without any errors or when they tell you that they love to read and want to show you how successful they are.
Jando DanialI have been volunteering for the East Side Learning Center.... All I can say is that words by themselves can’t express how great the program is. They make very educated decisions on what a student is able to do or is interested in. I tutored first and second graders. Throughout the first semester, I felt how those little kids were enjoying the reading. At the end of the semester, I was amazed by the progress that they made due to the very organized materials that they were taught by. I always tell people about it. I tell them how important is to have people who actually care about little kids’ successes. The educational games, interesting books, and the training that the tutors get from ESLC sum up everything to create healthy, strong, and successful students. Our kids need someone to take good care of them. And we want our kids to be in good hands. ESLC is it.
Debbie LeeI tutor a first grader once a week. The other days she receives tutoring from one or two different tutors. The professional lesson writer, Mary, works hard to help my student learn to read by reading comments from the tutors closely and then devises ways to help my student in ways that work for her. For example, my student loves to write on the white board, but her penmanship is poor. There aren't enough white boards with lines on them to go around, so Mary has included a notebook with the other tutoring materials. My student writes in the notebook daily to improve her penmanship. The tutors follow daily lesson plans and make notes about what my student is having trouble with. Mary has been very responsive in addressing these issues and my student has made great progress this school year!
