#Meet the ACPS Partners: Alexandria Tutoring Consortium

Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is fortunate to count dozens of dedicated businesses, community organizations and institutions of higher education as partners working with us each day to inspire students and address barriers to learning. 

Observing National Volunteer Month in April, ACPS is recognizing the contributions of our volunteers along with our partner organizations. In our new #Meet the ACPS Partners feature, the school division aims to proudly thank our partner organizations. Through these question and answer style articles, ACPS also wants our school community to get to know who our partners are and the positive impact they have on our schools. Let’s meet the partners:

Alexandria Tutoring Consortium

https://alexandriatutors.org/

Communications Director Jessica Klein Schools served – All ACPS elementary schools

What’s your mission statement? How do you work with ACPS students, families or staff?

Alexandria Tutoring Consortium’s (ATC) mission is to help kindergarten, first and second grade Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) students read on or above grade level. ATC recruits and trains community volunteers to become tutors. ATC works with ACPS schools and staff to find out which children need reading assistance. ATC tutors meet with their “Book Buddies” twice a week throughout the school year to make sure they can read proficiently. ATC worked closely with ACPS’ Elementary Literacy Instructional Specialist Dr. Carolyn Wooster to develop a reading lesson plan informed by the Science of Reading educational approach that matches what the students learn in their classrooms.

How long has your organization been (officially/unofficially) partnering with ACPS?

This is ATC’s 28th year working with ACPS students. We are proud to serve Alexandria’s public elementary schools.

If you could describe the impact of your work with ACPS in three words or less, what would they be?

Making Readers Stronger.

What is a recent bit of good news about your organization or a feel-good story that you can share about your work?

ATC adopted the Science of Reading in our lesson plans to match reading instruction in ACPS, so we focus heavily on phonics instruction. Students are making great progress. First and second graders' ability to sound out words is advancing more rapidly than in prior years, leaving more time to hone in on fluency and writing. Kindergartners are at the highest level we have ever seen, with many reading about two months ahead of past years and beginning to write sentences. Our 310 tutors will continue tutoring their 275 Book Buddies through May. We look forward to watching their reading skills grow.

What is one thing most people might not know about your organization's work?

Fifty-six percent of ATC's students are English Learners (EL), a higher percentage than the school division's EL rate of 38%. Book Buddies students are selected by their teachers based purely on whether they need reading assistance. Because we live in such a culturally rich and diverse city, we work with students from all backgrounds - children whose families have been here hundreds of years, decades or just a few months. ATC tutoring is a great fit for English Learners because we give children a chance to work on pronunciation and vocabulary one-on-one with a caring adult.

How can community members get involved and support your organization's collaborative efforts with ACPS?

Volunteer or donate. You can visit our website at https://alexandriatutors.org to learn more about becoming a tutor or making a donation. You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Instagram (@atcread2succeed) and LinkedIn.