Designed to support parents and caregivers who are concerned about their child’s progress in literacy, this virtual 3-month service is offered in addition to the after school and summer literacy program and Advanced Placement Prep program we already offer.
The Reading Lab is offered over four time frames throughout the year: Fall (October – December), Winter (January – March), Spring (April – June), and Summer (July – September). New registrations are required every Fall term.
Register Your Scholar Become A Reading Lab Tutor- Step 1: Determine that you and your child can commit to meeting with a tutor for 10 meetings over a 3-month period and that you have the following technology readily available:
- Computer, tablet, or phone. A larger screen is preferred especially for screen-sharing.
- Headset with microphone
- High-speed internet connection
- Familiarity with using screen-sharing software
- Access to a Google email account (Free Gmail accounts can be setup at http://gmail.com)
- Step 2: Begin by registering your scholar. When registering, select "The Reading Lab (Virtual Tutoring): Open Enrollment" option.
- Step 3: Freedom Readers will reach out to schedule the first meeting.
- Step 4: Attend the meeting virtually on Zoom. The participants will be:
- At least one adult, parent, guardian, caregiver, or designee
- The scholar
- The assigned tutor
- Freedom Readers staff member
A look inside the initial online 30-minute assessment...
- Introductions
- Caregiver shares concerns & asks questions. (These may also be submitted ahead of time.)
- Child takes a short reading assessment which may involve identifying letters and sounds or reading a passage depending on grade level.
- Child will complete an interest inventory which consists of a series of short questions concerning what the child enjoys.
- The Freedom Readers staff member will go over the program expectations, schedule a weekly meeting time, confirm contact information between the tutor and caregiver, and explain the letter-writing aspect of The Reading Lab.
As a follow up, the Freedom Readers staff will email a summary of the meeting and next steps to the tutor and caregiver. The Freedom Readers staff will then mail a beginning package to the scholar to include materials for writing letters to their tutor, 10+ books to keep, and a reading journal.
When You Request A Tutor:
- All tutors have passed a background check and have been trained by Freedom Readers.
- Freedom Readers will schedule a meeting (in-person or online) with the caregiver and the tutor for the purpose of making introductions and clarifying expectations.
- Tutors commit to a minimum of 3 months of service and a minimum of 10 meetings with the scholar.
- During the initial meeting arranged by Freedom Readers staff, tutor & caregiver will agree on a day & time for a weekly reading check in. Tutors may check in via phone or virtual meeting.
- Caregivers are invited, but not required, to attend each weekly check-in with the tutor. Caregivers should be easily accessible to the scholar and tutor throughout the meeting time.
- Within one week of the initial meeting, the tutor will write an introductory letter to the child. The child should respond to the letter within one week. Stamps, envelopes, and paper will be provided to families.
- Tutors will talk with the child about the book(s) they have read during the week. The purpose of the conversation is to help the child recall what was read, think more deeply about the reading, and make connections between the reading and their lives.
- Regular weekly meetings will last 30–45 minutes. During regular weekly meetings, the tutor and scholar will complete the following:
- A reading warm up which may consist of letter/sound recognition, sight word review, or vocabulary.
- Reading a text together. For beginning readers, this will consist of a decodable book. For more advanced readers, this will be a chapter book.
- The final meeting will be a “Proud Day” celebration scheduled by Freedom Readers staff. All tutors, scholars, and caregivers will meet over Zoom to listen to speeches given by scholars and tutors.