December 6, 2012 Shelton Mason County Journal | ![]() |
©
Shelton Mason County Journal. All rights reserved. Upgrade to access Premium Tools
PAGE 3 (3 of 20 available) PREVIOUS NEXT Jumbo Image Save To Scrapbook Set Notifiers PDF JPG
December 6, 2012 |
|
Website © 2025. All content copyrighted. Copyright Information Terms Of Use | Privacy Policy | Request Content Removal | About / FAQ | Get Acrobat Reader ![]() |
School seeks
additional
volunteers for
program
By NATALIE JOHNSON
natalie@masoncounty.com
In high schools across
the county, increasing
class sizes are becoming
an ever-present problem,
making it difficult for
teachers to spend time in-
structing individual stu-
dents.
CHOICE Alternative
School's tutoring pro-
gram puts volunteer tu-
tors from the community
into the classroom along-
side teachers, giving addi-
tional support to students
during their lessons.
Maureen Black, GEAR
UP Student Support In-
terventionist at CHOICE,
coordinates the tutor pro-
gram.
"One of the things we
do well here is all of our
classes are much smaller
than the other schools are
able to provide," she said.
"Our great strength is our
individual relationships
with students who may
have fallen through the
cracks."
Many of the students
at CHOICE, and there-
fore many of those who
need extra tutoring, have
"educational gaps," Black
said. They have missed
years in school, either be-
cause they were homeless,
dropped out of school for a
time or for other reasons.
For students at
CHOICE, where 80 per-
cent of students fall below
the federal poverty line,
Black said learning chal-
lenges are often multi-
generational.
CHOICE has about 15
tutors, who spend as little
as an hour or two a week
to several hours a day
at the school. Even with
more than a dozen tutors,
they are spread thin over
the school's 220 students.
In classes, tutors sit
side-by-side with students
and go through lessons to-
gether, stepping in to pro-
vide extra help or expla-
nations as students need
them.
Sandy Frishman volun-
teers in CHOICE teacher
Sue Barnard's reading
class.
Frishman spent much
of her career as a social
worker, and said she feels
tutoring at CHOICE is a
natural extension of her
previous career.
"I belong to the same
church (as Barnard) and
she talked about the kids
and got me interested,"
she said. "I like it. They
thrive when you work
one-on-one."
Tutoring helps stu-
dents develop and hone
reading and math skills
in the classroom. Per-
sonal attention from tu-
tors can also increase the
students' self-confidence,
Black said.
"When a student be-
lieves they have the abil-
ity to learn, it makes a
phenomenal difference,"
she said.
Barnard, who has
helped recruit many of
the school's tutors, said
the extra help is indis-
pensable in her 'Interven-
tion Reading' class, for
students who need extra
help with reading.
"You can't do one-on-
one (without tutors)," she
said. "There's no way to
make it work without one-
on-one."
Larry Parker volun-
teers during math classes
on Mondays, Wednesdays
and Fridays at CHOICE,
while also tutoring for
math at South Sound Lit-
eracy in Shelton.
"I really like it, it's very
enjoyable," he said.
Parker, who is a land
surveyor and civil engi-
neer, said he likes teach-
ing higher-level math,
such as algebra and geom-
etry, at CHOICE.
"It's really enjoyable for
me to help them," he said.
Guy Lusignian,
CHOICE's longest ten-
ured tutor, has been vol-
unteering in reading and
literacy classes for 12
years.
Journal photos by Natalie Johnson
Above, Bob Miller, a tutor with CHOICE
Alternative School, helps Daryl Gauthier, 18,
with geometry. Right, Sandy Frishman, right,
tutors Maricela Antonio, 14, in a reading class
at CHOICE Alternative School. The school
has about 15 tutors who help give struggling
students one-on-one attention.
have expertise in a partic-
ular subject, such as math
or English.
Black is also work-
ing on adding mentors to
the tutor program. These
mentors would be able
to meet with students
out of the classroom, for
"When a student believes
they have the ability
to learn, it makes a
phenomenal difference."
tutor program, but also
advocates for students
in their current and fu-
ture education, helping
them navigate complex
college applications. She
also works to get college
application and SAT fees
waived for students from
low-income families.
"I'm hoping to build up
programs that will be sus-
tained," Black said.
"I like kids. My wife was
a teacher out at Southside
(School District)," he said.
"If you're a friend of Sue
Barnard ... she's a good
recruiter."
Black is working to
recruit more volunteers
from the community.
Each tutor goes through
standard background
checks and interviews
with the school. Black said
CHOICE is looking for tu-
tors who are comfortable
working in a classroom or
students in the school's
contract-based learning,
Home Partnership Acad-
emy or Running Start, to
help with homework and
be a positive role model.
The GEAR UP program
is funded through a feder-
al grant scheduled to run
through the end of 2016,
but Black said she doesn't
want programs such as
the volunteer in-class tu-
toring to end in four years.
As part of her job, Black
not only coordinates the
Prevent Uncomfortable & Costly Dental Problems
Song Guo, DDS
Mary Huang, DDS
Shelton Dental Excellence proudly welcomes
Song Guo, DDS and Mary Huang, DDS.
Drs. Gun and Huang bring over six years of
outstanding dentistry experience from Bellevue
and are delighted to relocate to the Shelton
area. Please join our staff in welcoming these
excellent dentists.
r
I
FREE Whitening*
for Active & New Patients
I "(May not be combined with any other offer)
426-4712 ...............................
Cash value 1120¢ Expires 12/Y1/12
L2 6z6o,ympic
r
New Patient Special
I s4900 Exam & X-rays
*lMay not be combined with any other offer)
1426.4712 ..............................
Cash value 1120¢ New patients 0nly Expi~e512/31/12
I~ 626.. Olymp,. ic H_~. N.The~fficeof Ri(h~rdC Downim,mng, DDS. Sh=,,~elton -- --
• Convenient Payment Plans Available
• CareCredit". ChaseH a d a ce
Patient Payment Plans FINANCING OPTIONS
~i,.-i¸ ~
Shelton Dental Excellence
Guo & Huang, DDS, PLLC
1626 Olympic Hwy N • Shelton
(360) 426-4712 • www.SheltonDental.com
Shelton-Mason County Journal- Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012 - Page A-3