Every month we ask our regional staff to nominate a star student and tutor. Our students receive a special certificate for being nominated. It is a great privilege to work with these amazing students.
Gabriel, Kindergarten. When I first began tutoring Gabriel, he was shy and didn’t want to be left without his mother. I was, admittedly, daunted by the task of tutoring this little five year old. But, every week Gabriel became more comfortable and more and more excited about school. Since I have known Gabriel he has caught up with his other classmates and even won a prize for most improved student! I have read his report card and he is doing so well—right on mark with all his other classmates. This is all the more impressive considering when he started, he could not even write his name. Gabriel comes home to his shelter every day and practices his letters, sounds, words and numbers with his mother. My absolute favorite thing about tutoring Gabriel is how his face lights up when he knows a word we are reading and almost jumps out of his seat with excitement. When we finish his homework, Gabriel will draw animals and then sound out their names for spelling practice. He is a wonderful artist (I have some of his drawings on my fridge) and it is a fun and playful way to practice writing and reading. Clare Bakota, Tutor
Jasmine, 10th grade. Jasmine is graceful, gracious, generous and has a lovely gentle soul. She is a lovely artist. But, beneath her gentle persona is a young woman who is solid and strong to her core. I have been so lucky to work with her. In the time I have known her, I have witnessed her dedication to learning; she will work without a break for over an hour—often longer. She has gained a lot in the last year. Her reading and math skills continually grow. Though this past year has presented many challenges and upheavals and the sadness that goes with them, she has always maintained her composure. I have learned a lot from being with her. She studies even when she is feeling sick. She is patient with herself when learning new things, and even more so, she is patient with me when I try to understand her math problems! I am so happy to know Jasmine and her sisters, brothers and parents. They are truly loving towards each other. Thank you, Jasmine, for letting me be a part of your life. Annie Bronston, Tutor
Region 4 – Long Beach/San Pedro
Debra, 8th Grade. Since beginning to tutor Debra this summer, I have been impressed by her focus on academics and interest in improving her performance at her new school. At one of our first sessions, I asked if she had ever played Scrabble. She said she hadn’t. I have always found Scrabble to be a fun way to assess and build vocabulary and math skills. There is also some strategy involved which can lead to some spirited competition. She enjoyed playing the first time and this slowly become our weekly routine – a way to end our sessions and sometimes an incentive for her to complete assignments she found less interesting. About a month after I started tutoring her, she mentioned that she wanted to learn to tell time manually. At the next session, I brought some teaching materials and proposed a friendly challenge –she would learn to tell time manually in less than an hour. We went through the activities and after she completed them all, I asked her the time. “6:44” she said. She had learned how to tell time in 44 minutes. She was beaming. Aarti Shastry-Harper, Tutor
Regions 5 & 6 – Hollywood/Mid-City & Glendale/Pasadena
Edward, 5th Grade. Edward lives with his mom and siblings in a domestic violence shelter. He is a shy, but productive, 11- year- old. Seldom have I witnessed a more industrious lad. We concentrate mainly on improving his spelling and writing techniques because his grades reflect a very good grasp of his subjects. The volume of homework that he has nightly is rather daunting. But he enjoys the process of learning and doing his homework. He usually has already begun his work by the time I arrive and keeps on after I leave.
While we have been working together for only about four months, Edward’s appreciation of the time we spend together is apparent. He even asked me to come two days a week instead of the usual one. How could I turn him down? Edward has a great love of drawing. Unfortunately, there is no art class, and he has very little time to perfect his art because of the amount of homework he is assigned. I’ll be proud to someday say, “I knew him when….” Jerry Buchanan, Tutor
Addendum: Edward wrote that he thinks, “Jerry is the best tutor in the world!”
Valerie, 4th Grade. For the past year, I have had the pleasure of tutoring Valerie and getting to know her and her wonderful family. From day one, it was clear that Valerie was extremely gifted, educationally and in spirit. She is a GATE student with an extremely high reading level and an enormous imagination and personality. Valerie is an outstanding artist and creative writer, and I have no doubt she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to, including becoming a research chemist that discovers something new. Above all, the love and support within Valerie’s family and Valerie’s desire to contribute positivity, humility, and good will to those around her are things that touch my heart each week. I am also proud to say that Valerie is currently at the top of her class and still striving to improve herself, whether it be by organizing her backpack every week or preparing for extracurricular spelling bees and geography bees. Congratulations, Valerie, on being Student of the Month. In my book, you are Student of a Lifetime! Ronika Kalpaige, Tutor
