What happens when 138 dedicated Team Read coaches gather in the same room? A great day of learning and sharing with teens from all over the city!
The Team Read Return Coach training on Saturday, October 1 at the John Stanford Center drew together teens from all over Seattle for a day of reflection, dialogue and engagement. Reading Coaches with 1-4 years of experience attended workshops led by district staff to build tutoring and relationship management skills.
“I want to learn how to be a better tutor and improve my teaching,” said David, a sophomore at Franklin High School who is back to tutor for his second year.
“I want to learn how to build a positive and fun relationship with my student,” noted Kevin, a junior from Franklin.
“It was incredible to have all those teens in one room!” said Program Manager Bill Eisele. “Being a tutor is hard work sometimes, and it helps when tutors share their experiences and learn from each other.”
The tutoring skills workshops focused on helping coaches to ask great comprehension questions of their students before, during and after reading a book. District Literacy Support staff helped coaches to plan their reading sessions with students and provided Reading Guides, or checklists, of important questions to ask. We would like to thank Anita Morales (former Equity and Race Relations Specialist), Monica Sylver (Curriculum Specialist), Kelli Kapahua Vitale (Curriculum Specialist) and Kathlyn Vasquez (Literacy and Social Studies Program Manager) for their support and expertise.
The relationship management workshops allowed tutors to discuss their successes and challenges from the past year. Tutors worked in groups to brainstorm effective behavior management strategies when a student resists reading, and workshop leaders conducted role play exercises for the group to critique.
Tutors who attended training will work at elementary sites citywide, starting in late October.