Super Smith to the Rescue
As a 2nd grade teacher at Geyer Springs Elementary, with over 20 students in her classroom, Mrs. Bulloch, like many other teachers, experienced the inability to dedicate a lot of one-on-one attention to students in the classroom. Now serving as an Academic Intervention Specialist at Meadowcliff Elementary, she discovered community resources, such as AR Kids Read, that offered tutoring for children reading below grade level in 1st– 3rd grade. “Many parents are working multiple jobs. There’s an imbalance. With AR Kids Read tutors, students have some stability and one-on-one attention.”
Because of AR Kids Read’s partnership with Meadowcliff Elementary, Mrs. Bulloch could connect with volunteer tutor, Kevin Smith. Mr. Smith, military postal service retiree and father, saw an announcement at his church, The Church at Rock Creek, requesting volunteers to tutor at local schools. “I had read the announcement before, but something just hit me that day last year and I decided to step up.” As a father, he was fortunate enough to be able to dedicate the time to be involved in his children’s learning experience. “Every day our kids read for 20 minutes before they could do anything else. My daughter loved to read. My son, not so much. That time was important.”
That brings us to a special little fourth grader at Meadowcliff Elementary, Kevin…
“At the beginning, his reading was choppy…I knew he had it in him, he just needed someone there to help him realize it.” – Mr. Smith
