It was a great first week of operation! Three of the four days of the week we are open for tutoring, I was able to tutor. Today, at our second open house, we had many interested parents stopping by to check us out.
One thing I have noticed is that my lack of Spanish speaking skills is a HUGE problem. I have had at least one parent every day stop in very interested, but because I do not speak Spanish, we are unable to communicate. I am going to put together a frequently asked questions page and have it translated in hopes of answering some of their questions. Another option I am looking into is having a parent be available to translate and answer questions. I am also looking into learning Spanish as well. Working at the school, there is always someone around to translate, but with LIST, it is only me, so I need to get on the ball.
Already, I have seen how tutoring is so important. The parent of one of the students I tutored told me that one day when he did not come to LIST and she was helping him, he spent a long time resisting doing his homework (nearly 45 minutes). Yet, when he comes to LIST, he is excited to do the work, and works really hard.
Next week, I will be subbing at the school, and will sub for the next seven working days, so I will be around the school. While there, I plan to talk LIST up to all the students and teachers I see, especially the students I have taught in the past – just another way of getting the word out there. I am also going to remind the principal about us, and the need to mention us at the first parent meeting. I am hopeful that our signs will come this week, and we can put them up to give us even more publicity.
Overall, I am very excited about our start and am looking forward to all the students we will start to serve in the future.
