WINTER 2000

Woodring Student Groups Promote Diversity

Four student-based volunteer programs are funded and operated by the Woodring College of Education in collaboration with WWU's Center for Service Learning. This is a brief look at each program from students who direct them.

Partners in Reading

"I like to come to reading," wrote one elementary school student last June. "I improved on comprehension because I know how to connect something to another thing," observed another. These students express the mission of the Partners in Reading: learning to read better and learning to enjoy the process by working with tutors who are themselves readers.

Under the sponsorship of Woodring and the guidance of faculty supervisor, Don Crawford, Partners in Reading (PIR) collaborates with elementary schools to offer individualized tutoring for children in kindergarten through fifth grade. Begun in 1997 in response to President Bill Clinton's America Reads Challenge, PIR is part of a nationwide network of similar campus-based, federally-funded organizations. The two full-time coordinators are AmeriCorps volunteers who serve from September through July.

PIR utilizes both volunteers and work study employees &endash; many of them current or future Woodring students &endash; as tutors. Tutors are trained by Crawford and by the schools and teachers who utilize them in such methods as peer-assisted learning strategies and side-by-side reading. The after-school programs at Bellingham's Sunnyland and Columbia, and Ferndale's Central Elementary currently serve more than fifty students. In addition, individual tutors have been placed in Bellingham classrooms at Roosevelt and Columbia, doing one-on-one and small group tutoring. The program's goal for the year is to serve 100 students.

Lara Ristow

LINK Project

Woodring's LINK Project is a student-run university service learning program that provides volunteer opportunities for university students who wish to work in school settings in a tutoring and mentoring capacity. It is the mission of the LINK Project to foster academic achievement and personal growth by forming positive partnerships between WWU volunteers and Bellingham youth. During autumn quarter, there were 53 LINK tutors volunteering in seven elementary, middle, and high schools in the Bellingham School District. Volunteers work as classroom assistants or as tutors in a one-on-one setting. LINK volunteers are doing an excellent job making a difference in their community and in the Bellingham School District.

The LINK Project targets at-risk youth who are struggling academically and socially. LINK volunteers are not only a resource for academic help, but positive role models and mentors in the life of a young student. Many people underestimate the importance of this one-on-one mentoring relationship. LINK regularly receives comments from parents about the impact that a Western volunteer has had on their child's life. Project administrators have also heard numerous stories from LINK volunteers about the rewards they have received through tutoring.

Although LINK regularly works to recruit new volunteers, they have over 25 unfilled tutor requests. LINK volunteers only have to commit two hours a week to tutor and mentor a student, yet they receive invaluable benefits in return. Interested students are encourage to volunteer with LINK and make an impact in the life of a Bellingham youth.

Sarah Thorburn

Native American Mentoring Program

The Native American Mentoring Program (NAMP) is a student-coordinated service-learning program that works in conjunction with Bellingham School District, Ferndale High School, Lummi Tribal School, and Woodring.

Western students are matched with Native American K-12 youth who have expressed interest in the program. Through tutoring and mentoring, the youth gain academic and personal support, while the tutors gain experience, cultural insight, and the satisfaction that comes from working with youth. Both parties gain new perspectives.

NAMP offers a variety of events throughout the academic year to complement its educational efforts. Fall begins with a training for service-learners in which they are presented with some nuts and bolts of tutoring. This year, two members of the community conducted a workshop on cultural awareness. Presenters were Randy Vendiola, vice-principal of Lummi Tribal School, and Rudy Vendiola, Indian Education coordinator at Ferndale High School.

NAMP continues to provide reflection opportunities and cultural events for its participants throughout the year. This year, we are continuing to integrate social justice ideals into the program. To achieve that, we collaborate with other organizations, individual faculty, staff, and community members who are committed to the ethics of the service-learning concept &endash; social responsibility and the life-long process of learning. NAMP is also dedicated to making sure our participants have fun. In that spirit, we hold an annual salmon bake as a celebration for all involved. Additionally, we are planning a series of events for Native American History Month in April.

Margaret Chapman

HASTA

The Hispano-American Student Tutoring for Achievement (HASTA) Program was created in 1998 in order to help address several issues involving the rapidly growing local Hispano /Latino community. Bellingham and its surrounding communities have seen a large increase in minority populations. As a result, local school districts have encountered educational needs that challenge their current resources. HASTA was implemented to provide the school districts with additional tools to heighten the success of Hispano/Latino students. The program places Western volunteers with local students for one-on-one, group, or in-class tutoring.

HASTA staff and tutors work to bring the natural talents and abilities out in local Hispanic students by providing academic assistance, cultural encouragement, and language support. HASTA volunteers work to bridge the language and cultural gap between Hispanic families and the schools through letters, after-school programs, and extra-curricular events.

HASTA also recruits minority Western students &endash; especially those of Hispano/Latino heritage &endash; to assist in various projects. Nearly one-fifth of the program's current volunteers are Hispano/Latino, a ratio the program is striving to increase. The program also encourages its volunteers and the public school students with whom it works to enter the teaching field.

The program is experiencing rapid growth, and feedback from the local schools is overwhelmingly positive. Witnessing the personal growth and increased accomplishments of students who are often overlooked and discounted is empowering and encouraging for all of the tutors.

Matthew Konsa

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