 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
One On One: Winter Texans Eager to Help Valley Youth The Monitor, McAllen, TX ~ James Osborne  In one chair is a retired insurance company administrator from Wisconsin who plays golf three times a week and likes to attend the symphony. In the other is a ponytailed 8-year-old girl from Rio Bravo who, having moved to the United States only a year ago, is struggling to learn English. He raises flash cards with common English words and she writes them down in her notepad. Unlike some of the other students in the room, who are also studying with senior citizens from the north, Angelica doesn't appear particularly enthused. But the 76-year-old man isn't bothered and keeps right on with the flashcards, prodding the girl with his seemingly boundless enthusiasm. "She's only been over from Mexico, but next year I guarantee she'll be at the top of her class," Jack Puhl said. "She has the mind and the ability; she just needs a little help. "A lot of people get into this anxious to see some measured progress right away and they get discouraged. The point of this program, as I see it, is to get the kids excited about learning. Don't be a bean counter; take a look at their attitude." Every year the PSJA school district, like many school districts in the area, employs hundreds of Winter Texans as volunteers in their Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) program aimed largely at bilingual students. Launched in Vancouver, Wash., in 1971 and now established in 1,300 schools across 40 states, according to the company's Web site, the program puts students struggling in basic skills in one on one tutoring sessions. In the case of PSJA, whose three cities are littered with RV parks, school administrators have found a fountain of volunteers in the seasonal Winter Texan community. Predominantly from the Midwest and of middle income, Winter Texans make up the bulk of the district's 400-strong volunteer pool and will typically tutor two or three students from November through April. A student will only have three or four 30-minute sessions a week, but school district coordinator Mary Villarreal believes the effects are substantial. "One on one, that's the whole thing," she said. "I like the word mentor, because it's not just tutoring. It helps their self-esteem; it improves their behavior and their attendance. It's not just about academics." Running the program at Carman Elementary School, where Puhl volunteers, is Flora Campos, who herself entered the United States at age 14 not knowing a word of English. While she recently completed college and will be a fully certified teacher next year -- presently her duties are more or less administrative -- times weren't always so good. "If you're at a fourth-grade level in Mexico, when you come over here you automatically get thrown into third grade. You're not given the chance to grasp the language," Campos said. "You get called a lot of names, wetback, even by our own people. It wasn't a very nice experience." So when the chance to organize the HOSTS program at Carman came up 11 years ago, Campos said she jumped at the chance and believes the tutors are helping students adjust to life here faster than they might have otherwise. "The students are still transiting, and by second grade they're expected to have picked up so much English," Campos said. "By having someone work with them in English, they get to hear the correct pronunciation and learn lots of new vocabulary. The tutors aren't getting paid. They're here because they care about someone else and that's the most important thing." The only problem is when the Winter Texan season ends the district is left with a fraction of their tutors. Elaine Kirkham, 60, is a former Air Force nurse spending the winter in the Bibleville RV Park, a born-again Christian community in Alamo. She's been working with three first- and second-graders since January, but is getting ready to head to New Mexico for the summer. Her last day at Carman was Thursday and now her students' usual two hours of tutoring a week will be reduced to half an hour. "My first year down here, the people who told me about Bibleville were tutoring and told me about it, but I was like I don't know," she said. "I'd never taught before, but it's been a really rewarding experience with the little ones." |
  |
|
 |
Solutions :
Partners :
Success Stories :
Questions? :
About Us :
Customer Support Contact Us : Privacy Policy : Home ©2008 HOSTS Learning |