(Updated June 2020) Amanda started literacy tutoring in July 2018 with a great attitude and ready to get to work. At that time, Amanda was in the middle of a job search because she had recently lost her job at a local nursing home.
From the beginning, Amanda’s first tutor, Herlanda, noticed that she had good basic reading skills, but had trouble with comprehension. As Amanda and her tutor worked through their first lesson, Amanda did a great job of reading through the story, and they were able to identify some problem areas and sought to work on these things beyond the lessons included in the Challenger curriculum workbook.
Herlanda helped Amanda to improve her comprehension skills in several ways. They took their time with each of the post-story questions, and Herlanda showed Amanda how to go back within the story to find the answer. Amanda also learned how to find matching words listed in the question and in the story to answer the question, understanding that the questions may be listed in the order the story was written, and using the headers of different sections to be guided to the correct answers. Herlanda also helped Amanda with her math literacy to give her greater understanding of what she was reading.
Amanda has gone on to work with tutors Adrienne and Pat. She has a new job at UAMS, and recently passed her written driver’s exam. Through the past two years, Amanda has been committed to attending her tutoring sessions and has gained a true understanding of what is necessary to be successful in all areas of her life: hard work and commitment. We are so proud of Amanda’s continued growth in literacy and life, and thank her tutors for helping her on her path to success!