With another short week at LIST due to the President’s Day holiday, the month of February seems to be flying by. Before you know it, spring break will be upon us, and then the end of the year! In between now and then, however, there is a lot of work to be done. One big item that I was able to complete was the final registration in Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Day” program. As a result, I have had over 10 interested parties contact me. This is great because it gets our name out there, but unfortunate in that with these volunteers coming only once, it does not help to process through our waiting list.
At the end of the week last week, I ran into one of the second grade brothers who has been attending LIST. Lately, their attendance has been very spotty, only coming once every two or three sessions. Since I was subbing, I was able to see him at school and I asked where they had been, and it came out that they are no longer coming to LIST any longer. This is very sad and disheartening to me since we had done so much to make sure they continued coming, working with them together instead of separately so they would be more comfortable, and even putting them on scholarship. These two students are so far behind, and they so desperately need outside help, but I recognize that I cannot make them come, nor can I make them study outside of LIST or school. My heart is saddened knowing what their future may hold without the ability to read; my only hope/prayer is that they one day get the help they need, and at that time, their family can make a commitment to helping them succeed.
There is a third student that was a part of the “class” with these two brothers, and I am happy to report that this student and his family have been working outside of school and LIST. I have seen great improvement in his abilities since coming back from Christmas break and I observed the continuation of this progress this week. With the absence of the two brothers, this student and I have been able to work really hard during our tutoring sessions, and I am glad to be able to help this student make progress. This week, I was able to test him on the spellings and the sounds, and I was pleased to see that he has made some great progress. With help from his parents, and his eagerness, I know our work will pay off. Right now, the area we need to work on most is blending, or sounding words out. This is where he seems to struggle the most right now.
Finally, just a quick reminder, that on Saturday, February 27, we will be having our first pancake breakfast. If you are in the area from 9-11, stop by; just $4/person for a great cause. For more information, go to www.listhelp.org.
