We have made huge progress on engaging parents this quarter. Many are coming to volunteer and 2 families have attended Sunday services at The EDGE Church where we meet. Every day after we meet, we make coffee and invite the parents in who are coming to pick up their students. This gives us time to talk and get to know the families better. They are more and more comfortable in the church. The students are reading well and on track for another successful year!
__________
After school reading ministry meets Monday through Thursday for two hours after school. We offer homework help, reading and writing, and devotions and prayer every day. We employ 4 teachers who work with 45 students from the local public elementary school. Our students are in 1st through 5th grade, mostly Hispanic, and live in poverty. We use 10 to 15 volunteers per week from area colleges and our community to help with the students. In this way, the community is engaged in helping to solve their own problems. Each year, our students are tested for reading level before and after our program, and have consistently shown to improve an average of 2-3 grade levels per year.
