Designed Tutor-Mentoring Partnership Initiative, Assuring All Student's Learning to Comprehension Level of Reading: Essential to Quality of Life in the 21" Century

Objective
The objective of the Tutor﷓mentoring initiative is to maximize learning in all children through assuring reading competency. The one﷓to﷓one engagement of the reading process has demonstrated repeatedly through research to yield positive results.

The military student population does not have the advantage of extended families. Often parents are deployed and children are left without parental support in reading. The project providing tutor﷓mentors for K﷓ 12 grade students is a positive way in which to promote the ability for all children to read.

Main Partners
Partner: Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe, Bavaria District Schools Superintendents Office, Education Division (a district of 10,500 students, 24 schools, located over 39,000 square miles in the Bavarian and Baden-Wiirttemberg region of Germany).

Partner: United States Army Europe, I st Infantry Division, 98th Area Support Group, 417 th Base Support Battalion, Schools Liaison Officer, U.S. soldiers and affiliated support personnel.

Partner: U.S. Army MEDDAC, Hospital Medical Activity, 12 th Chemical Battalion

Partner: American Red Cross, Europe, Germany, volunteers, and Red Cross representatives.

Partner: Teachers, administrators, students of Bavaria District Schools, Department of Defense Dependents Schools, Germany, Europe, Department of Defense Education Activity.

Partner: Latter Day Saints church group; VFW; military community﷓affiliated organizations

Main Beneficiaries
Students who are not reading at grade level and finding difficulty with comprehension

Main Contributors
School faculty and staff, school principals; district education coordinators; district administrators; community members who can be consistent mentors over time; Command organizations.

Essential Elements
Written design plan for the volunteer initiative Volunteer coordinators of the volunteers Standardized training package for volunteers Letters and certificate models for school administration to present to volunteers Cooperation of the counselors and teachers Publicity campaign, community and school Public relations plan.

Main Factors of Success

• Consistency of tutor and student regular attendance at set time of sessions
• Development of an attitude within the student body that participation in the tutor-mentoring initiative is a positive opportunity.
• School administrator support must be evident.
• District administrator support must be vocal and visible.
• Training and definite format plans for the tutor-mentoning project are afforded all participants.
• Reward system for tutor-mentoring

Assessment-evaluation process and evidence of its strength

• Student feedback
• Teacher feedback
• Tutor-mentor feedback
• Grade comparisons, beginning vs. end of project Bavaria District has instruments available to measure student level of competency in reading, used at beginning and end of planned project time period for selected students.

Years of program, growth since inception:
Over a period of 5 years:

Manuals have been developed.

• A series of different strategies have been tried. Some have failed but much has been learned.
• Community awareness levels and teaching staff and administrator awareness have been raised.
• A reading project has been initiated by the Bavaria District office for all schools within the district. The project is supported through consultants and additional funding to requesting schools. The expectation is that by the Year 2004 all students will leave the 3rd grade reading to standard. This initiative gives emphasis to the need to pursue reading with true integrity.
• Partnership understanding has been developed over a period of five years with support of liaisons in each school. The liaisons conduct trainings for the community and faculty. In addition, the liaisons can acquire two hours graduate credit for their effort.

Impact
The impact of tutor﷓mentoring on students' reading achievement brings to the forefront the true need students have to be nurtured in their learning, finding where the difficulties lie and addressing specific needs. All children can learn, but not always in the same way.

Potential replication and scale of the initiative
There are glitches yet to be acknowledged; however, replication is possible. In the Bavaria District all schools are encouraged to support a partnership program. The experiences we had will enrich our competency to establish successful programs.

Underwriter Validation
Mary Ellen Riley, Principal, Wuerzburg American High School

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