Designed to support parents and caregivers who are concerned about their child’s progress in literacy, this virtual 6-8 week service is offered in addition to the after school and summer literacy program and Advanced Placement Prep program we already offer.
Register Your Scholar Become A Reading Lab Tutor- Step 1: Schedule an initial online 30-minute appointment by registering your scholar. When registering, select "The Reading Lab (Virtual Tutoring): Open Enrollment" option.
- Step 2: Attend the meeting virtually on Zoom. The participants will be:
- At least one adult, parent, guardian, caregiver, or designee
- The child to be assessed
- A literacy professional (reading coach, reading teacher, administrator, etc.)
- Freedom Readers staff member
- Step 3: Receive your personalized prescriptions for reading improvement
- Step 4: Request a tutor for your child (if necessary)
- Step 5: Schedule a follow up meeting with your assessment team in 6-8 weeks
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. Assessment focus on fluency and/or comprehension.
- Child will complete an interest inventory which consists of a series of short questions concerning what the child enjoys.
- As a follow up, the Freedom Readers staff will email a reading prescription to the caregiver within 24 hours of the meeting. Families will be emailed a copy of A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas from Research for Parents prepared by the National Institute for Literacy.
- Freedom Readers staff will allow the child to choose a book to take home if the meeting is in person and will mail or deliver three additional books that match the child’s interest within a week of the meeting.
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 6-8 weeks of service. The tutor may work with the same family for another 6-8 weeks if both parties agree.
- 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.
- 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.
- Within one week of the initial meeting, the tutor will write an introductory letter to the child. The child should respond to the letter with one week. Stamps, envelopes, and paper will be provided to families upon request.
- Tutors will help caregivers develop a structure and schedule for completing online assignments that may come from the child’s school. Tutors may answer questions about schoolwork related to reading, writing, or speaking during the weekly check-in or at another time agreed upon by the tutor and family.
- Additional support may be available upon request. Families can reach out to the Freedom Readers’ office to negotiate other services on a case by case basis (843-331-8526).