A Way with Words: Launching Literacy into the Community Jennifer E. Jordan Caryn N. Lubetsky University of Missouri-Columbia
The A Way with Words literacy program, of the University of Missouri-Columbia, began in response to President Clinton's call to the nation to further literacy education in the United States. In late 1996, colleges and universities were notified of a large increase in their Federal Work Study grant. This grant increase was established as part of the America Reads Challenge, a nationwide effort to help all children in this country read independently and well by the end of the third grade. President Clinton strongly encourages institutions to apply half of their grant increase towards funding Work Study students to serve as reading tutors in the local community. By December 1996, twenty Campus Compact college presidents had pledged their commitment to this initiative. Now over 400 institutions, including the University of Missouri-Columbia, have agreed to extend half of their new Work Study positions to students interested in being reading tutors. On July 1, 1997 it became effective that schools hiring Federal Work Study students as preschool through elementary school reading tutors need not comply with the Federal Work Study employer matching rule of 25%. This means that reading tutors are available at no cost to schools and service agencies, while college students receive Work Study wages for literary service employment in the community. The University of Missouri-Columbia has pledged half of their 34.9% increase in Federal Work Study funds towards helping children in Columbia to read. The University Career Center helps accomplish this goal by creating job opportunities and overseeing placement, while the Financial Aid Office determines Work Study eligibility and Address correspondence to Jennifer E. Jordan, 2228 Five Mile Drive, Boone, IA 50036. Journal of Career Development, Vol. 25(2), Winter 1998 © 1998 Human Sciences Press, Inc.
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tracks the earnings. After consulting with several community organizations the Career Center found the community to be very receptive to college-level reading tutors. Local elementary school administrators and teachers expressed a particularly high need for tutors at school sites. Thus, the Career Center decided to develop a community-based literacy campaign known as the A Way with Words literacy program. A Way with Words delivers its services through a "team" approach. Tutors are assigned to a team consisting of approximately 10 other students who all tutor at the same Columbia public elementary school. Teams are led by graduate students hired to serve as literacy site coordinators. Currently the program employs over 130 tutors (work study and volunteer) and thirteen literacy site coordinators, serving twelve school sites and over 150 teachers. In addition, the literacy program services after-school reading programs and a Saturday Academy in conjunction with two Columbia community organizations. The A Way With Words administration set the following goals for the program: 1) to help children in the Columbia area improve their literacy skills; 2) to provide an avenue for college students to be become involved in community service; 3) to spend half of our federal work study grant increase on literacy improvement and be on a national "Honor Roll" of colleges who have met this presidential challenge; and 4) to make this a positive experience for everyone involved in the program. In addition to addressing national and local literacy needs, the A Way With Words program targets career development. It does so by providing opportunities for undergraduate tutors to gain added experience in the educational/social service field, to learn about themselves, and to network among their peers and supervisors. Through its involvement, the Career Center services both its college students and the local community. By detailing the various aspects of the A Way With Words program, we intend to provide a model for other career centers that are interested in developing innovative, interdisciplinary programming.
Division of Responsibility The division of responsibility in the literacy program consists of four levels including one Program Director, one Program Coordinator, 13 site coordinators, and over 130 tutors.
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The Program Director constitutes the only salaried position in the program. Duties of the Program Director include the following: 1) oversight of general office procedures; 2) selection, training, and management of site coordinators; 3) identification and solicitation of public schools and community programs for participation; 4) development of program handbook; 5) creating reports of program statistics; 6) assessing training needs; and 7) overall management and accountability for the program. The Program Coordinator exists to provide support to the Program Director. The position is designed to facilitate cohesion among site coordinators and to enhance communication with community organizations. Specific job responsibilities of the Program Coordinator are to: 1) plan and facilitate weekly site coordinator meetings; 2) organize materials; 3) arrange initial training sessions; 4) interview tutors; 5) assist in all aspects of recruitment; and 6) generally assist the Program Director. The Program Coordinator is a master's level student in the Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology. The position is a twenty hour assistantship with an hourly wage equivalent to that of site coordinators. The role of the site coordinator is to help implement and deliver literacy tutoring services in specified elementary schools and educational programs. Each of the 13 site coordinators is responsible for a team of tutors. Several sites are co-coordinated given the special needs of the site. A breakdown of their responsibilities includes: 1) assisting with the recruitment, selection, and training of tutors; 2) planning and conducting bi-monthly team meetings to process tutor experiences, provide continued training and support, and facilitate team-building; 3) acting as a liaison between public administrators, the Career Center and the team; 4) coordinating tutor work schedules; 5) monitoring payment procedures; 6) attending weekly site coordinator meetings; 7) implementing research initiatives; 8) enforcing disciplinary actions and guidance; 9) providing direct tutoring services to elementary school students; and 10) implementing career planning and experiential learning features into the tutoring experience. Site coordinators are recruited primarily from graduate programs in helping professions and are selected after an application and interview procedure. Necessary qualifications for this position are a bachelor's degree, enrollment in a graduate program, an interest in literacy, demonstration of leadership and responsibility, commitment to ten hours of work per week for two consecutive semesters, and an ability to represent the university in a positive light.
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The demographics of the initial group of site coordinators consisted of: four males and nine females; two African Americans and eleven Caucasians; ten master's students and one doctoral student; twelve students in Educational and Counseling Psychology and one student in Special Education. The 130 tutors provide the bulk of the direct service. Most tutors are work-study employees and there are also several volunteers. Tutors participate in training, attend bi-monthly team meetings, and tutor students in educational settings. Tutors are primarily recruited during summer orientation. Prior to their arrival on campus, brochures and program information are sent to incoming students. Then they are provided with an opportunity to interview as a segment of the work-study portion of orientation. Tutors are also recruited through service-oriented organizations. Demographic characteristics of the initial group of tutors are represented in Table 1. The students represent a comprehensive distribution of academic majors and provide diverse input from the disciplines that they represent. Program Components A training model was established to provide necessary preparation for tutors to enter elementary schools and related sites. Training is delivered by literacy site coordinators, Career Center staff, University of Missouri faculty, experienced literacy providers, and Columbia Public School employees. Another core component of the program is reflection, a process used to actively connect tutoring activities to academic experiences. In addition, research efforts represent an ongoing piece of the program. Training Initial training is provided by reading specialists. In addition to bringing their own expertise, these specialists consult with teachers in the public schools to identify the basic knowledge necessary for tutors to have before working at a site. Tutors are trained in areas such as awareness of reading curriculums, characteristics of emergent readers and writers in the primary grades, techniques to use with early readers, and forming relationships with students. Procedures for operating in the public schools are also addressed. Tutors also explore multicultural issues. They are trained to re-
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Table 1 Demographics of Initial Tutor Group Classification Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Gender Male Female Major Agriculture Arts and Sciences Business Deciding Education Human Development Interdisciplinary Studies Journalism Medicine Physical Therapy/Occupational Therapy Race White Black Asian Hispanic American Indian
64% 13% 14% 9% 24% 76%
2% 10% 10% 4% 24% 4% 3% 14% 11% 8% 65% 20% 6% 2% 2%
spect cultural diversity, identify personal biases, and acquire understanding to help overcome prejudicial ideas or actions which would affect tutoring. Tutors are provided with a definition of their role and expectations as both tutors and mentors. Boundaries are established and suggestions are provided to enhance appropriate relationships with students and facilitate the improvement of reading skills. Additional topics are addressed during scheduled bi-monthly team meetings, often by special guest speakers. These topics include specific approaches to reading, child abuse, positive discipline, learning disabilities, book recommendations, and other relevant issues.
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Reflection A Way With Words strongly identifies itself as a service-learning program. The central tenet of service-learning "is critical reflection, as recognized in the 1993 National and Community Service Trust Act, that provides the transformative link between the action of serving and the ideas and understanding of learning" (Eyler, Giles, & Schmiede, 1996, 14). The process of reflection consists of challenging students in a supportive environment to think critically about themselves and their actions. Reflection results in broader ways of thinking as well as new knowledge and new curiosities. This program has chosen to incorporate reflection into the tutoring experience through team meetings. Every other week each team of tutors meets and discusses relevant issues. The site coordinator for each team is responsible for coordinating and leading the meetings. The reflection process is approached through various topics, such as growth through community service, career exploration, and increased awareness of multicultural and social issues. Tutors are also directed to process their experience through stimulating questions used in the research initiative. Examples of these questions include: "Tell us about something that happened in the last two weeks that has made you feel effective with your students," "Share something that you have learned or an insight you have gained during that last two weeks," and "What would you change about this experience to improve it for you and the students you are working with?" Research Since A Way with Words is a new program, it is extremely important to carefully assess its effectiveness. For this reason, a research team was formed for evaluation purposes. Of prime importance is program assessment: Is the program working? Are tutors positively contributing to the literacy education of children? Are tutors demonstrating responsibility and taking their service seriously? Do the school administrations, community organizations, and parents have good impressions of the program? As we write this article, evaluation efforts are still in progress. This program allows for many other areas of research exploration as well. A central area of focus will be on the growth experienced by college students engaged in community service. The tutoring role encompasses a variety of learning experiences for the college students
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that may allow for changes in a number of areas, such as their personal/psychological development, career development, civic mindedness, critical thinking, and multicultural awareness, among others. Specifically, we expect to find that tutors evidence increased levels on: 1) vocational identity; 2) openness to experience; 3) civic mindedness and interest in community service; 4) awareness of multicultural issues; 5) critical thinking; and 6) self-efficacy in the areas of teaching and interpersonal skills. Quantitative and qualitative data are being gathered in order to assess whether or not these changes indeed occur in program tutors following their service experience. Teachers and principals from each of the schools are also providing evaluation feedback about the program, via surveys. A preliminary review of these results is positive and encouraging. The schools seem very supportive of the A Way with Words program and wish for involvement to continue. Further, the research team is working with school personnel to assess the impact of tutoring assistance on the children. All evaluation results will be used to inform future programming. The Future
After several consultations and negotiations, the national service organization Americorps gave a grant to A Way with Words in January 1998. Under the literacy initiative of Americorps, the grant provides tutors at the University of Missouri-Columbia the opportunity to become Americorps volunteers. Upon completion of 900 hours of literacy volunteer work within two years, Americorps volunteers will receive an educational award of over $2400. Alternatively, students may opt to contribute 600 hours of service for an award of approximately $1500. Awards may be used to pay for educational expenses (i.e., graduate school, student loans). If students are work study eligible they will continue to receive wages for these hours. In essence, work study tutors will be compensated for their services at two different times: in bi-monthly paychecks and in a large stipend at the end of their accumulation of hours. Volunteers may arrange to fulfill some of these hours at sites other than the Columbia public schools. The grant covers funds for up to 200 volunteers. A Way with Words hopes to enlist 100 volunteers during its first year as an Americorps-affiliated program, and to enlist 100 more volunteers the second year. A successful partnership with Americorps will hopefully lead to more
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affiliated programs, additional learning opportunities for college students, and increased benefits for the local community. A Way with Words continues to strive towards its goals and to improve upon its programming for the future. The program will continue to create more service learning opportunities for college students. The Career Center will maintain strong ties with the community through such opportunities. Considering the positive experiences of all those involved thus far, it is likely that the program will continue to grow and prosper in the future. We encourage other career centers to explore avenues for such interdisciplinary, community-focused programming on their own campuses. Reference Eyler, Giles, & Schmiede (1996). A Practitioner's Guide to Reflection in Service-Learning: Student Voices & Reflections. Vanderbilt University.
