augustine literacy project - alp-charlotte...augustine literacy project ® former augustine student...
TRANSCRIPT
AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT®
Former Augustine Student Graduates From High SchoolAugustine student, Brandon Paxton, and his ALP tutor, Megan Forrest, were �rst featured in our newsletter in 2011. At that time, Brandon was a 7th grader at Crestdale Middle School and had been working with Megan for two years. He was a curious boy who loved martial arts and astronomy.
Megan remembers that when they �rst met, Brandon was not too con�dent that he could graduate from middle school. Megan would not give up on Brandon, believing in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. She explains, “We just clicked. And, eventually things started to happen. By the second semester it was clear the Augustine program was working for Brandon.”
When Brandon passed his End of Grade exam that year, everyone was shocked, including Brandon. “His teachers were crying, the principal was crying. Brandon was falling over because he couldn’t believe he actually passed,” Megan recalls.
Excited by his progress, Megan and Brandon continued to build momentum. One day in 7th grade, Brandon walked in and began pulling books o� the shelf, reading random sentences from each one. In awe, Brandon looked at Megan and said, “I can read! I don’t know how it happened, but I can read.”
Megan and Brandon worked together until he graduated from middle school. This spring Brandon achieved another milestone: high school graduation! And, when Brandon matriculated at CPCC this fall he became the �rst member of his family to attend post-secondary education.
Congratulations, Brandon!Megan Forrest is in her 7th year of Augustine tutoring and is working with a student at Greenway Park Elementary School. ALP currently matches tutors with �rst- and second-graders, catching struggling readers early to increase their chances of success.
Augustine Announces $10,000 Challenge From Anonymous Donors! NOW is the best time to give! Two avid fans of ALP-Charlotte will match $ for $, new donations and increases over last year, up to $10,000!For example, if you gave $250 last year, and this year, you give $300, your $50 increase will be matched. This match will close December 31, 2016, so please send in your donation today.
If you have questions about your giving history, please contact
Dear Friends,
As the winter holidays draw near I would like to thank you, Augustine’s donors, tutors, school and community partners, for helping us serve Charlotte’s most vulnerable students with highly trained volunteer literacy tutors. For a student who is accustomed to failure, working with an Augustine Literacy tutor can be life-changing. For a tutor equipped with research-based methods, it can be the most meaningful volunteer position ever held.
Last year Augustine documented its success, drew more support and established itself on a growth trajectory. Thanks to the Dowd Foundation, ALP-Charlotte completed a year-long program evaluation and data collection project with the Urban Institute. The study proved that Augustine moves the needle for children in poverty. I encourage you to see student outcomes on page 2.
The student growth captured in the Urban Institute study would not be possible without your investment in Augustine’s highly trained tutors.
Each new tutor receives 42 hours of training in research-based methods, including four coached sessions with a child. All tutors commit to a minimum of 60 tutoring sessions, and tutors at partner schools are supported by ALP Site Coordinators throughout the year. 85% of our tutors attend ongoing training. According to the Urban Institute study, 97% of tutors who volunteered in a school prior to ALP felt they contributed more as an Augustine tutor. The return on investment (ROI) is remarkable, given that once trained, our volunteer tutors stay with Augustine. We retained 90% of our tutors from last year!
We have a successful model, and we are growing. Thanks to the generous
We welcomed Sterling Elementary School as our 8th partner-school this fall. (For a list of all schools, please see the back page.) Furthermore, with WIF support, we were able to hire two dynamic, exceedingly well-quali�ed sta� members to support this growth.
As gratifying as our grant from WIF is, we need you, our supporters, to sustain our growth. To that end, I am excited to announce a $10,000 Challenge o�ered anonymously from two avid fans of Augustine. The Challenge will match new donations and increases over last year, up to $10,000. If you have questions about your giving history, please contact Eleanor Moore at [email protected] or 704-749-6162. Your increased investment in ALP-Charlotte will go further and do even more for struggling readers in our community if you give by December 31st. Are you up to the challenge?
By investing in ALP-Charlotte, you are investing in the future of our community. We have children in Charlotte who need the time, attention, and training of Augustine tutors. This season, please partner with us and give the best gift of all - hope for a better future through the gift of reading.
Happy Holidays, Alison
Fall 2016
Brandon Paxton with ALP Tutor Megan Forrest in 2011
Brandon today!
Blythe ElementaryBrookstone SchoolBruns Academy*
Cornelius ElementaryCrown Point Elementary
Elizabeth Traditional Elementary*Greenway Park Elementary
Huntingtowne Farms Elementary*McAlpine Elementary
Montclaire Elementary*Park Road Montessori
Rama Road Elementary*Sedge�eld Elementary*
Sharon ElementarySterling Elementary*
Westerly Hills ElementaryWinding Springs Elementary*
Winter�eld Elementary*Partner schools
Kelly Reed Keeling, Board Chair Ann Temple, Past Board Chair
Sally Davis, Secretary Eric Clark, Treasurer
Jenny Beaumont Bonnie Fleming
Ivy Gill Josephine Hicks
Harris Holt Anjali Kumar Markey
Valerie Roberts Sue Schreiber
Mary Davis Smart Michelle Spak
Alison Houser, Executive Director & Ex O�cio Board Member
Cindy Hopper, Assistant DirectorEleanor Moore, Program Assistant
Jess Heath, Administrative AssistantEleanor Hahn, Site CoordinatorMarion Idol, Site Coordinator
Colleen Kopchick, Site CoordinatorPam Ross, Site Coordinator
To improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low income students
who struggle with literacy by providing free, long-term one-on-one instruction
from highly trained volunteer tutors.
We rely heavily on individual contributions and appreciate all donations. ALP is not a religious program, and all donations are
tax-deductible gifts to a restricted fund. Donate using the enclosed
card, or online:
Alison Houser ALP - Charlotte Executive Director
Supporters listed in bold have provided $10,000+ this year.
African American Community Endowment Fund
Allied Caster & Equipment Co.Ann Dunlap Hendrix Charitable FundThe Bank of America
Charitable FoundationBarnes & Noble
Eleanor & James Barnhardt Foundation
The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
Episcopal Church Women of Christ Church
First Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Women
Forest Hill ChurchHahn - Mason Air Systems, IncHarris Holt Framing & Art ServicesJames Family FoundationMackie Price Family FoundationThe Marc & Mattye Silverman
Family Foundation
Munce Consulting Group, Inc.Myers Park United Methodist Church
Park Road Baptist ChurchParker Poe Adams & Bernstein
LLP Employee GivingSouth Park Rotary FoundationSt. Martin’s Episcopal Church
Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign
Bob & Ann AbelMarshall & Dorothy AceeJohn Alday & Rebecca FantCandace ArmstrongEdwin ArmstrongJudy AtwellJoel & Ellen BabbLisa Anne BaldiniJim & Carol BartosJenny BeaumontEmerson BellMegan BellinghamDebbie BlystoneHarriet BosCharles & Mary BowmanLee & Cathy Bradley
John & Ginny BrienFrederick & Sandy BrightGrey Timberlake BrownlowRichard & Barbara BuckinghamJames & Sara ByneKim CarterBetsey ChalmersFrances ClardyAnn ClarkEric ClarkMack ClarkDumont Clarke & Shirley J. LinnCraig & Joyce CmielMartha CochraneCharles & Nancy ConnerE.J. ConwaySue CoonenKathy CornellMary Susan CoxRobert & Peggy CulbertsonAnne DavantJoseph & Elizabeth Davant, IIIWard & Sally DavisSarah DorenfeldJim & Jennifer DrizosDaniel & Karen Dupre’Tina EarlyMike & Minna ElliottThomas & Lisabeth EllisBonnie FlemingFannie FlonoLarry & Megan ForrestJames & Laura FreemanGilbert GalleJamie & Ingrid GambleStephen & Sarah GeisMarshall GilchristBetsy GilmanLee & Bev GilmanHarriet GilmanJohn & Ann GloverElizabeth GloverAlice GloverSteve & Karen GosselinTony & Rusty GrayTim & Gail GrayJames & Carol Gray-AdlerRichard & Bobbie HahnRick & Eleanor HahnBridget HarrisonKeith & Lisa HartWilliam & Norene HartMark HawkinsDan & Jess HeathLinda HefnerJulie HeidrickSteven & Emily HensleyJosephine HicksVan & Kate HillBill & Ann HinsonGeorge & Kay HodgesHarris & Lyn HoltLindsey & Alison HouserDick & Jane Anne Houser
Carson Dowd HowardChris & Marion IdolCathy JenkinsAnthony & Suzanne JohnsonJim & Edith JohnsonJohn & Kelly Reed KeelingJohn & Cantey KelleherVerdery & Mary Ann KerrBeryl KingColleen KopchickChristopher & Audrey LakinJames & Sheila LayLou LesesneSally LloydPaula LombardiJamie & Caron LyeMargo MacKenzieGeorge & Wandra MackieMichael & Gene MalloneeJohn & Anjali Kumar MarkeyChris MartinPatricia MartinCatherine MaxwellCamilla MazzottaPalmer McArthurDavid & Debbie McCarthyThomas & Sandra McCrystleMary Ellen McElroyPatrick & Jocelyn Graham
McLaughlinHarriet MeetzJames & Priscilla MillerHardin & Linda MinorRandy & Lucy MinterEleanor MooreMaurice & Canon MooreAnn Mason NeillKaren & Andy NicholsonJohn & Andra NormanAnna OkrahLeland ParkBarbara PartingtonChristine PattersonBob & Andie PayetMary Ruth PayneIra & Mary PearcePaul & Elizabeth PeraltaPatrick & Debbie PhillipsTyler & Jill PhillipsFritz & Mary Margaret PorterMalyn PrattBenjamin & Rebecca PrattElizabeth PrattMarirose PrattMichael PrattRichard & Liz PrattEmily PrattJulia PriesterSusan RabinovichHank & Sherri RalstonEllen ReichPaul ReichsEllie & The Reverend Ollie V. RencherDonna RiceValerie RobertsTerry & Cathy RocheSandra RoetherBeth RogersonKelly & Pam RossBoyd & Stephanie SafritDeb SandersLinda SarazenMary Kay ScarboroughRich & Cindy SchneiderRebecca SchraderSue SchreiberScott & Margaret SchrimsherFrank & Shirley SchrimsherBrian Schultz
Edward & Tari SchutzmanJenene SeymourAllen & Sarah Shi�etWynn & Lane SimsSkip & Mary Davis SmartBetsy SmithDon & Patty SmythMichelle SpakHelen SpenceJe�rey & Ambika SpinazzolaJohn & Claire TateLeslie TeagueAnn & Tom TempleSylvia Deloris ThompsonJohn & Allison Romelle TibeMary McCombs TurnerAmy VitnerJohn & Melissa VulloAinslie WallCristina WarlickAndree White-SnowDoug & Sandy WilsonTom & Velva WoollenTom WylieRebecca & David YarbroughPeter Young, Sr.Anne ZahlanMargaret ZellerRon & Janet ZickBill & Angie Hardister
Jane AhernTim & Jane AreyCandace ArmstrongBetsey ChalmersDeanna ChillemiJean CochraneWalter Howard Cox, Jr.Anne DavantLaura FreemanAnne & Steve GarrettJoanie GerkenBev & Lee GilmanIvy GillAnthony & Rusty GrayTim & Gail GrayLinda HefnerKatherine HicksAlison HouserChris & Marion IdolKelly KeelingAnna Blair & Jamie KneiselPaula LombardiKaren MacKenzieWendy MunceElizabeth PrattMarirose PrattMichael PrattBlair & Ivon RohrerLauren & Ivon Rohrer, IIIRashanda RoseKristin SeegarsSandy SkipperPatty StephensAnn TempleRama Road Elementary Sta�ALP BoardALP Sta�Sta� & Clergy of St. Peter’s
Episcopal ChurchStudents Barbara, Jacques,
Nazarian & Luis
Elizabeth AlexanderHattie C. Stowe
We continue to build this vital community project with the generous support of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and Ebenezer Baptist Church
for hosting our tutor training classes, and the following elementary schools for serving as practicum sites:
Elizabeth Traditional Elementary, Montclaire Elementary, Rama Road Elementary & Winding Springs Elementary.
Thanks to Hawthorne’s Pizza on 7th Street for providing pizza to our trainees & coaches.
For more information, contact us:
115 West 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: Email: Jess Heath
Charlotte, NC Spring 2014 AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT®
THE NEED IS GREAT. HELP US GROW!
Our Miss ion
THIS FILLS MY HEART
(Names of the children have been changed to protect their identity.)
There’s nothing more painful than watching your child struggle. Augustine tutor Marion Idol knows this from personal experience. She was familiar with a multi-sensory ap-proach to reading instruction from taking special education classes to help her own son years ago. Marion jumped at the chance to take the Augustine Literacy Project training when she heard about it on Charlotte Talks.
“I fell in love with Mariah, the little girl I worked with during training, and contin-ued tutoring her at Elizabeth Traditional,” Marion said. “Then I heard that the mother of
another child was begging for help for her son, John, and I told the director I wanted to work with a second student.”
Augustine’s structured approach is one of the things Marion appreciates most because it is designed to help children experience suc-cess. “I’ve volunteered a lot in the schools, and actually tutored children, but I always wondered if I was really helping them. As an Augustine tutor, I know it's working. You see the lights go on.”
At the end of their first lesson, Marion handed John a book to test the sounds he’d just practiced. “He read that book to me and looked at me with the biggest eyes. ‘You’re a fantastic reader!’ I told him, and he said, ‘No one has ever said that to me before.’ Now he loves to read with me at the end of every lesson!
“He has the biggest personality. I had him reading multi-syllable words and wanted to push him a little bit. He sounded out the word ‘columnist’ and I asked him, ‘Do you know what that is?’ And he slapped his leg and said ‘I have no idea!’
“One reason I was willing to take a second student was their needs are very different. The parents of Mariah were very concerned for her because there’s no English spoken at home. We used the Augustine curriculum with great success for her second grade year. Now that she is reading fluently in third grade, I provide comprehension support to her in the regular classroom,” Marion said.
“One of the highlights of my week is to go and work with Mariah and John. Some people say they feel lost after their youngest leaves the nest. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my own children, but this fills my heart.” -Virginia Brien
Become a Volunteer Literacy Tutor (Or, refer a friend!):
Support a Volunteer Literacy Tutor: It costs ALP $650 to train a tutor. Volunteer tutors pay for materials only. Once trained, Augustine tutors provide a minimum of 60 hours of free tutoring to a low-income child who struggles with literacy, a market value of $3,000. Augustine staff provide ongoing support and education to tutors and work with schools to match tutors with at-risk readers. Donations of all amounts are welcome. Please complete the enclosed “Be a Spark!” card and honor those who taught you or your children to read by supporting an Augustine tutor who will teach an at-risk child to read. We will send acknowledgment notes to your honorees. Your gift will enable us to say “yes!” when we receive tutor requests.
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” Victor Hugo
Summer Training Workshop August 4-15, 2014
Fall Training Workshop: September 8-19, 2014
is to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low income students who struggle with literacy by providing free, long-term one-on-one instruction from highly trained volunteer tutors.
Augustine L iteracy Project–Charlotte
Email [email protected] for an application.
Augustine Literacy Project (ALP) receives tutor requests from principals, teachers and parents that we cannot fill. Our goal is to train 30 additional tutors for the 2014-15 school year who will assist low-income first– and second– graders who are a year or more be-hind in reading. Augustine students typically show a year’s worth or more of progress after 30 sessions with their tutor. There are two ways you can partner with us to meet the needs of additional at-risk children:
match
Volunteer Hours devoted to lesson preparation, instruction and training
Tutoring Sessions valued at a market rate of $200,000+
Low-Income Students Served in 20 Charlotte-area schools
Students improved in knowledge of letters, digraphs and sight word reading
Grade Levels (average) of Reading Growth in decoding and word attack
9,200
4,000
110
100%
1.1
Award From The Women’s Impact FundIn recognition of the work that ALP-Charlotte is doing in CMS schools, the Women’s Impact Fund (WIF) honored us with a two-year, $100,000 award to help facilitate our growth. The award was announced at the WIF annual meeting on May 11, 2016 at Foundation for the Carolinas. This grant will enable ALP-Charlotte to DOUBLE the number of children who will experience reading success and hope for a bright future. Additionally, it will expand our capacity to meet the literacy needs of even greater numbers of at-risk children in the future.
Giving Tuesday: November 15-29Giving Tuesday encourages charitable activities that support nonpro�t organizations and falls on the Tuesday immediately following Thanksgiving. In 2015, ALP-Charlotte raised over $15,000 during the campaign. Any donation we receive from November 15th to the 29th will be eligible for matching funds from #GivingTuesdayCLT.
OrthoCarolina Foundation is providing ALP with a $1,000 matching gift for funds raised through #GivingTuesdayCLT 2016. Thank you, OCF!
(Left>Right) Alison Houser, ALP Executive Director, Ann Temple, ALP Past Board Chair, Ann Essaye, WIF Board Chair and Kelly Keeling, ALP Board Chair, at the WIF awards ceremony in May.
Welcome to 2 New Sta� Members!Cindy Hopper, our Assistant Director, served CMS as a teacher for 16 years, and then subsequently served as a CMS literacy facilitator, assistant principal and principal. Cindy holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Urban Literacy. In her new role, Cindy will coordinate recruitment and training of tutors in addition to assisting with ALP operations.
Pam Ross, Site Coordinator, has tutored students at Blythe and Winding Springs since 2013 and has served as a coach during new tutor training. In her new role, Pam will coordinate the ALP program at Sterling Elementary and Sedge�eld Elementary.
ALP-Charlotte Tutors, Students and Founder RecognizedIt was a big night for ALP-Charlotte at the �rst annual “Bookie Awards” hosted by Promising Pages on November 4th! The following ALP tutors and students were honored:
Ron Zick, ALP Tutor for “Best Literacy Advocate”Darwin C., ALP Student (tutored by Damon Garrison) for “Budding Bookworm”Yosgart H., ALP Student (tutored by Harriet Meetz) for “Budding Bookworm”
And, in the Special Awards Category: Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte received the Page Turner Award for “an organization making huge and measurable literacy-related strides in the Charlotte community.”Candace Armstrong received the Cover to Cover Award, “a literacy lifetime achievement award for the biggest bookworm of them all.”
ALP-Charlotte Got Rowdy!On September 24th, Charlotte’s Guys with Ties organization hosted the “Get Rowdy for Reading” fundraiser for ALP-Charlotte. The afternoon-long event at NoDa Brewing Company, open to the public, raised awareness about Augustine and o�ered entertainment for the whole family, ranging from live music to hula hoops and appearances by local sports franchise mascots. A ra�e of an autographed Charlotte Panthers’ football, a silent auction, and proceeds from beer and popsicle sales capped o� the fundraising e�orts, which raised over $11,000 for ALP-Charlotte! We sincerely thank our volunteers and silent auction donors, as well as NoDa Brewing Company for donating a portion of its afternoon sales and the incredible venue!
Fall 2016
Tutor Training Corner: Welcome to Our Recent Training Graduates! This fall we trained 31 new tutors! During training, participants assess students and deliver four ALP lessons under the supervision of experienced coaches. We are grateful to the following Augustine tutors who served as coaches this fall:
SEPTEMBER 2016Carol Gray Adler
Ellen BabbCynthia BuckLinda HefnerFran HuskeAndie Payet
Kristin PiscitelliMary TurnerLil Wetmore
OCTOBER 2016Candace Armstrong
Eleanor HahnKelly Halmrast
Julie LavoieAnjali MarkeyJulia PriesterNancy Smith
ALP-Charlotte News & Noteworthy
ALP Informational Co�ee
Oakhurst STEAM Academy 4511 Monroe Rd, Charlotte, NC 28205
Come learn more about our work to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low-income children who struggle with literacy. Please RSVP to: [email protected]
Winter 2017 Training Dates Announced!
Jan 30-31, Feb 1-3 & 7-9(8-days of training)
Held at Brookstone SchoolsApplications are available online at
alpcharlotte.org or email [email protected]
This Fall, ALP-Charlotte: • Trained 31 NEW tutors• Welcomed 2 new staff members• Welcomed its 8th partner-school, Sterling Elementary*
*Partner-schools have higher numbers of tutors, dedicated ALP staff support and a partnership agreement with school leadership.
By the Numbers...Our 2015-2016 School Year:
September 2016 Tutor Training Graduates and Coaches
Augustine tutors with 5+ years of service were recognized at our June Volunteer Luncheon.
Barbara Partington, Wendy Munce, Paula Lombardi and ALP-Charlotte Founder& former Director, Candace Armstrong,
were recognized for 10 years of tutoring at-risk children.
October 2016 Tutor Training Graduates and Coaches
Volunteer Hours devoted to lesson preparation, instruction and training
Tutoring Sessions valued at a market rate of $200,000+
Low-Income Students Served in 20 Charlotte-area schools
Students improved in knowledge of letters, digraphs and sight word reading
Grade Levels (average) of Reading Growth in decoding and word attack
9,200
4,000
110
100%
1.1
Award From The Women’s Impact FundIn recognition of the work that ALP-Charlotte is doing in CMS schools, the Women’s Impact Fund (WIF) honored us with a two-year, $100,000 award to help facilitate our growth. The award was announced at the WIF annual meeting on May 11, 2016 at Foundation for the Carolinas. This grant will enable ALP-Charlotte to DOUBLE the number of children who will experience reading success and hope for a bright future. Additionally, it will expand our capacity to meet the literacy needs of even greater numbers of at-risk children in the future.
Giving Tuesday: November 15-29Giving Tuesday encourages charitable activities that support nonpro�t organizations and falls on the Tuesday immediately following Thanksgiving. In 2015, ALP-Charlotte raised over $15,000 during the campaign. Any donation we receive from November 15th to the 29th will be eligible for matching funds from #GivingTuesdayCLT.
OrthoCarolina Foundation is providing ALP with a $1,000 matching gift for funds raised through #GivingTuesdayCLT 2016. Thank you, OCF!
(Left>Right) Alison Houser, ALP Executive Director, Ann Temple, ALP Past Board Chair, Ann Essaye, WIF Board Chair and Kelly Keeling, ALP Board Chair, at the WIF awards ceremony in May.
Welcome to 2 New Sta� Members!Cindy Hopper, our Assistant Director, served CMS as a teacher for 16 years, and then subsequently served as a CMS literacy facilitator, assistant principal and principal. Cindy holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Urban Literacy. In her new role, Cindy will coordinate recruitment and training of tutors in addition to assisting with ALP operations.
Pam Ross, Site Coordinator, has tutored students at Blythe and Winding Springs since 2013 and has served as a coach during new tutor training. In her new role, Pam will coordinate the ALP program at Sterling Elementary and Sedge�eld Elementary.
ALP-Charlotte Tutors, Students and Founder RecognizedIt was a big night for ALP-Charlotte at the �rst annual “Bookie Awards” hosted by Promising Pages on November 4th! The following ALP tutors and students were honored:
Ron Zick, ALP Tutor for “Best Literacy Advocate”Darwin C., ALP Student (tutored by Damon Garrison) for “Budding Bookworm”Yosgart H., ALP Student (tutored by Harriet Meetz) for “Budding Bookworm”
And, in the Special Awards Category: Augustine Literacy Project-Charlotte received the Page Turner Award for “an organization making huge and measurable literacy-related strides in the Charlotte community.”Candace Armstrong received the Cover to Cover Award, “a literacy lifetime achievement award for the biggest bookworm of them all.”
ALP-Charlotte Got Rowdy!On September 24th, Charlotte’s Guys with Ties organization hosted the “Get Rowdy for Reading” fundraiser for ALP-Charlotte. The afternoon-long event at NoDa Brewing Company, open to the public, raised awareness about Augustine and o�ered entertainment for the whole family, ranging from live music to hula hoops and appearances by local sports franchise mascots. A ra�e of an autographed Charlotte Panthers’ football, a silent auction, and proceeds from beer and popsicle sales capped o� the fundraising e�orts, which raised over $11,000 for ALP-Charlotte! We sincerely thank our volunteers and silent auction donors, as well as NoDa Brewing Company for donating a portion of its afternoon sales and the incredible venue!
Fall 2016
Tutor Training Corner: Welcome to Our Recent Training Graduates! This fall we trained 31 new tutors! During training, participants assess students and deliver four ALP lessons under the supervision of experienced coaches. We are grateful to the following Augustine tutors who served as coaches this fall:
SEPTEMBER 2016Carol Gray Adler
Ellen BabbCynthia BuckLinda HefnerFran HuskeAndie Payet
Kristin PiscitelliMary TurnerLil Wetmore
OCTOBER 2016Candace Armstrong
Eleanor HahnKelly Halmrast
Julie LavoieAnjali MarkeyJulia PriesterNancy Smith
ALP-Charlotte News & Noteworthy
ALP Informational Co�ee
Oakhurst STEAM Academy 4511 Monroe Rd, Charlotte, NC 28205
Come learn more about our work to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low-income children who struggle with literacy. Please RSVP to: [email protected]
Winter 2017 Training Dates Announced!
Jan 30-31, Feb 1-3 & 7-9(8-days of training)
Held at Brookstone SchoolsApplications are available online at
alpcharlotte.org or email [email protected]
This Fall, ALP-Charlotte: • Trained 31 NEW tutors• Welcomed 2 new staff members• Welcomed its 8th partner-school, Sterling Elementary*
*Partner-schools have higher numbers of tutors, dedicated ALP staff support and a partnership agreement with school leadership.
By the Numbers...Our 2015-2016 School Year:
September 2016 Tutor Training Graduates and Coaches
Augustine tutors with 5+ years of service were recognized at our June Volunteer Luncheon.
Barbara Partington, Wendy Munce, Paula Lombardi and ALP-Charlotte Founder& former Director, Candace Armstrong,
were recognized for 10 years of tutoring at-risk children.
October 2016 Tutor Training Graduates and Coaches
AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT®
Former Augustine Student Graduates From High SchoolAugustine student, Brandon Paxton, and his ALP tutor, Megan Forrest, were �rst featured in our newsletter in 2011. At that time, Brandon was a 7th grader at Crestdale Middle School and had been working with Megan for two years. He was a curious boy who loved martial arts and astronomy.
Megan remembers that when they �rst met, Brandon was not too con�dent that he could graduate from middle school. Megan would not give up on Brandon, believing in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. She explains, “We just clicked. And, eventually things started to happen. By the second semester it was clear the Augustine program was working for Brandon.”
When Brandon passed his End of Grade exam that year, everyone was shocked, including Brandon. “His teachers were crying, the principal was crying. Brandon was falling over because he couldn’t believe he actually passed,” Megan recalls.
Excited by his progress, Megan and Brandon continued to build momentum. One day in 7th grade, Brandon walked in and began pulling books o� the shelf, reading random sentences from each one. In awe, Brandon looked at Megan and said, “I can read! I don’t know how it happened, but I can read.”
Megan and Brandon worked together until he graduated from middle school. This spring Brandon achieved another milestone: high school graduation! And, when Brandon matriculated at CPCC this fall he became the �rst member of his family to attend post-secondary education.
Congratulations, Brandon!Megan Forrest is in her 7th year of Augustine tutoring and is working with a student at Greenway Park Elementary School. ALP currently matches tutors with �rst- and second-graders, catching struggling readers early to increase their chances of success.
Augustine Announces $10,000 Challenge From Anonymous Donors! NOW is the best time to give! Two avid fans of ALP-Charlotte will match $ for $, new donations and increases over last year, up to $10,000!For example, if you gave $250 last year, and this year, you give $300, your $50 increase will be matched. This match will close December 31, 2016, so please send in your donation today.
If you have questions about your giving history, please contact
Dear Friends,
As the winter holidays draw near I would like to thank you, Augustine’s donors, tutors, school and community partners, for helping us serve Charlotte’s most vulnerable students with highly trained volunteer literacy tutors. For a student who is accustomed to failure, working with an Augustine Literacy tutor can be life-changing. For a tutor equipped with research-based methods, it can be the most meaningful volunteer position ever held.
Last year Augustine documented its success, drew more support and established itself on a growth trajectory. Thanks to the Dowd Foundation, ALP-Charlotte completed a year-long program evaluation and data collection project with the Urban Institute. The study proved that Augustine moves the needle for children in poverty. I encourage you to see student outcomes on page 2.
The student growth captured in the Urban Institute study would not be possible without your investment in Augustine’s highly trained tutors.
Each new tutor receives 42 hours of training in research-based methods, including four coached sessions with a child. All tutors commit to a minimum of 60 tutoring sessions, and tutors at partner schools are supported by ALP Site Coordinators throughout the year. 85% of our tutors attend ongoing training. According to the Urban Institute study, 97% of tutors who volunteered in a school prior to ALP felt they contributed more as an Augustine tutor. The return on investment (ROI) is remarkable, given that once trained, our volunteer tutors stay with Augustine. We retained 90% of our tutors from last year!
We have a successful model, and we are growing. Thanks to the generous
We welcomed Sterling Elementary School as our 8th partner-school this fall. (For a list of all schools, please see the back page.) Furthermore, with WIF support, we were able to hire two dynamic, exceedingly well-quali�ed sta� members to support this growth.
As gratifying as our grant from WIF is, we need you, our supporters, to sustain our growth. To that end, I am excited to announce a $10,000 Challenge o�ered anonymously from two avid fans of Augustine. The Challenge will match new donations and increases over last year, up to $10,000. If you have questions about your giving history, please contact Eleanor Moore at [email protected] or 704-749-6162. Your increased investment in ALP-Charlotte will go further and do even more for struggling readers in our community if you give by December 31st. Are you up to the challenge?
By investing in ALP-Charlotte, you are investing in the future of our community. We have children in Charlotte who need the time, attention, and training of Augustine tutors. This season, please partner with us and give the best gift of all - hope for a better future through the gift of reading.
Happy Holidays, Alison
Fall 2016
Brandon Paxton with ALP Tutor Megan Forrest in 2011
Brandon today!
Blythe ElementaryBrookstone SchoolBruns Academy*
Cornelius ElementaryCrown Point Elementary
Elizabeth Traditional Elementary*Greenway Park Elementary
Huntingtowne Farms Elementary*McAlpine Elementary
Montclaire Elementary*Park Road Montessori
Rama Road Elementary*Sedge�eld Elementary*
Sharon ElementarySterling Elementary*
Westerly Hills ElementaryWinding Springs Elementary*
Winter�eld Elementary*Partner schools
Kelly Reed Keeling, Board Chair Ann Temple, Past Board Chair
Sally Davis, Secretary Eric Clark, Treasurer
Jenny Beaumont Bonnie Fleming
Ivy Gill Josephine Hicks
Harris Holt Anjali Kumar Markey
Valerie Roberts Sue Schreiber
Mary Davis Smart Michelle Spak
Alison Houser, Executive Director & Ex O�cio Board Member
Cindy Hopper, Assistant DirectorEleanor Moore, Program Assistant
Jess Heath, Administrative AssistantEleanor Hahn, Site CoordinatorMarion Idol, Site Coordinator
Colleen Kopchick, Site CoordinatorPam Ross, Site Coordinator
To improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low income students
who struggle with literacy by providing free, long-term one-on-one instruction
from highly trained volunteer tutors.
We rely heavily on individual contributions and appreciate all donations. ALP is not a religious program, and all donations are
tax-deductible gifts to a restricted fund. Donate using the enclosed
card, or online:
Alison Houser ALP - Charlotte Executive Director
Supporters listed in bold have provided $10,000+ this year.
African American Community Endowment Fund
Allied Caster & Equipment Co.Ann Dunlap Hendrix Charitable FundThe Bank of America
Charitable FoundationBarnes & Noble
Eleanor & James Barnhardt Foundation
The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina
Episcopal Church Women of Christ Church
First Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian Women
Forest Hill ChurchHahn - Mason Air Systems, IncHarris Holt Framing & Art ServicesJames Family FoundationMackie Price Family FoundationThe Marc & Mattye Silverman
Family Foundation
Munce Consulting Group, Inc.Myers Park United Methodist Church
Park Road Baptist ChurchParker Poe Adams & Bernstein
LLP Employee GivingSouth Park Rotary FoundationSt. Martin’s Episcopal Church
Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign
Bob & Ann AbelMarshall & Dorothy AceeJohn Alday & Rebecca FantCandace ArmstrongEdwin ArmstrongJudy AtwellJoel & Ellen BabbLisa Anne BaldiniJim & Carol BartosJenny BeaumontEmerson BellMegan BellinghamDebbie BlystoneHarriet BosCharles & Mary BowmanLee & Cathy Bradley
John & Ginny BrienFrederick & Sandy BrightGrey Timberlake BrownlowRichard & Barbara BuckinghamJames & Sara ByneKim CarterBetsey ChalmersFrances ClardyAnn ClarkEric ClarkMack ClarkDumont Clarke & Shirley J. LinnCraig & Joyce CmielMartha CochraneCharles & Nancy ConnerE.J. ConwaySue CoonenKathy CornellMary Susan CoxRobert & Peggy CulbertsonAnne DavantJoseph & Elizabeth Davant, IIIWard & Sally DavisSarah DorenfeldJim & Jennifer DrizosDaniel & Karen Dupre’Tina EarlyMike & Minna ElliottThomas & Lisabeth EllisBonnie FlemingFannie FlonoLarry & Megan ForrestJames & Laura FreemanGilbert GalleJamie & Ingrid GambleStephen & Sarah GeisMarshall GilchristBetsy GilmanLee & Bev GilmanHarriet GilmanJohn & Ann GloverElizabeth GloverAlice GloverSteve & Karen GosselinTony & Rusty GrayTim & Gail GrayJames & Carol Gray-AdlerRichard & Bobbie HahnRick & Eleanor HahnBridget HarrisonKeith & Lisa HartWilliam & Norene HartMark HawkinsDan & Jess HeathLinda HefnerJulie HeidrickSteven & Emily HensleyJosephine HicksVan & Kate HillBill & Ann HinsonGeorge & Kay HodgesHarris & Lyn HoltLindsey & Alison HouserDick & Jane Anne Houser
Carson Dowd HowardChris & Marion IdolCathy JenkinsAnthony & Suzanne JohnsonJim & Edith JohnsonJohn & Kelly Reed KeelingJohn & Cantey KelleherVerdery & Mary Ann KerrBeryl KingColleen KopchickChristopher & Audrey LakinJames & Sheila LayLou LesesneSally LloydPaula LombardiJamie & Caron LyeMargo MacKenzieGeorge & Wandra MackieMichael & Gene MalloneeJohn & Anjali Kumar MarkeyChris MartinPatricia MartinCatherine MaxwellCamilla MazzottaPalmer McArthurDavid & Debbie McCarthyThomas & Sandra McCrystleMary Ellen McElroyPatrick & Jocelyn Graham
McLaughlinHarriet MeetzJames & Priscilla MillerHardin & Linda MinorRandy & Lucy MinterEleanor MooreMaurice & Canon MooreAnn Mason NeillKaren & Andy NicholsonJohn & Andra NormanAnna OkrahLeland ParkBarbara PartingtonChristine PattersonBob & Andie PayetMary Ruth PayneIra & Mary PearcePaul & Elizabeth PeraltaPatrick & Debbie PhillipsTyler & Jill PhillipsFritz & Mary Margaret PorterMalyn PrattBenjamin & Rebecca PrattElizabeth PrattMarirose PrattMichael PrattRichard & Liz PrattEmily PrattJulia PriesterSusan RabinovichHank & Sherri RalstonEllen ReichPaul ReichsEllie & The Reverend Ollie V. RencherDonna RiceValerie RobertsTerry & Cathy RocheSandra RoetherBeth RogersonKelly & Pam RossBoyd & Stephanie SafritDeb SandersLinda SarazenMary Kay ScarboroughRich & Cindy SchneiderRebecca SchraderSue SchreiberScott & Margaret SchrimsherFrank & Shirley SchrimsherBrian Schultz
Edward & Tari SchutzmanJenene SeymourAllen & Sarah Shi�etWynn & Lane SimsSkip & Mary Davis SmartBetsy SmithDon & Patty SmythMichelle SpakHelen SpenceJe�rey & Ambika SpinazzolaJohn & Claire TateLeslie TeagueAnn & Tom TempleSylvia Deloris ThompsonJohn & Allison Romelle TibeMary McCombs TurnerAmy VitnerJohn & Melissa VulloAinslie WallCristina WarlickAndree White-SnowDoug & Sandy WilsonTom & Velva WoollenTom WylieRebecca & David YarbroughPeter Young, Sr.Anne ZahlanMargaret ZellerRon & Janet ZickBill & Angie Hardister
Jane AhernTim & Jane AreyCandace ArmstrongBetsey ChalmersDeanna ChillemiJean CochraneWalter Howard Cox, Jr.Anne DavantLaura FreemanAnne & Steve GarrettJoanie GerkenBev & Lee GilmanIvy GillAnthony & Rusty GrayTim & Gail GrayLinda HefnerKatherine HicksAlison HouserChris & Marion IdolKelly KeelingAnna Blair & Jamie KneiselPaula LombardiKaren MacKenzieWendy MunceElizabeth PrattMarirose PrattMichael PrattBlair & Ivon RohrerLauren & Ivon Rohrer, IIIRashanda RoseKristin SeegarsSandy SkipperPatty StephensAnn TempleRama Road Elementary Sta�ALP BoardALP Sta�Sta� & Clergy of St. Peter’s
Episcopal ChurchStudents Barbara, Jacques,
Nazarian & Luis
Elizabeth AlexanderHattie C. Stowe
We continue to build this vital community project with the generous support of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and Ebenezer Baptist Church
for hosting our tutor training classes, and the following elementary schools for serving as practicum sites:
Elizabeth Traditional Elementary, Montclaire Elementary, Rama Road Elementary & Winding Springs Elementary.
Thanks to Hawthorne’s Pizza on 7th Street for providing pizza to our trainees & coaches.
For more information, contact us:
115 West 7th Street Charlotte, NC 28202
Phone: Email: Jess Heath
Charlotte, NC Spring 2014 AUGUSTINE LITERACY PROJECT®
THE NEED IS GREAT. HELP US GROW!
Our Miss ion
THIS FILLS MY HEART
(Names of the children have been changed to protect their identity.)
There’s nothing more painful than watching your child struggle. Augustine tutor Marion Idol knows this from personal experience. She was familiar with a multi-sensory ap-proach to reading instruction from taking special education classes to help her own son years ago. Marion jumped at the chance to take the Augustine Literacy Project training when she heard about it on Charlotte Talks.
“I fell in love with Mariah, the little girl I worked with during training, and contin-ued tutoring her at Elizabeth Traditional,” Marion said. “Then I heard that the mother of
another child was begging for help for her son, John, and I told the director I wanted to work with a second student.”
Augustine’s structured approach is one of the things Marion appreciates most because it is designed to help children experience suc-cess. “I’ve volunteered a lot in the schools, and actually tutored children, but I always wondered if I was really helping them. As an Augustine tutor, I know it's working. You see the lights go on.”
At the end of their first lesson, Marion handed John a book to test the sounds he’d just practiced. “He read that book to me and looked at me with the biggest eyes. ‘You’re a fantastic reader!’ I told him, and he said, ‘No one has ever said that to me before.’ Now he loves to read with me at the end of every lesson!
“He has the biggest personality. I had him reading multi-syllable words and wanted to push him a little bit. He sounded out the word ‘columnist’ and I asked him, ‘Do you know what that is?’ And he slapped his leg and said ‘I have no idea!’
“One reason I was willing to take a second student was their needs are very different. The parents of Mariah were very concerned for her because there’s no English spoken at home. We used the Augustine curriculum with great success for her second grade year. Now that she is reading fluently in third grade, I provide comprehension support to her in the regular classroom,” Marion said.
“One of the highlights of my week is to go and work with Mariah and John. Some people say they feel lost after their youngest leaves the nest. Don’t get me wrong, I miss my own children, but this fills my heart.” -Virginia Brien
Become a Volunteer Literacy Tutor (Or, refer a friend!):
Support a Volunteer Literacy Tutor: It costs ALP $650 to train a tutor. Volunteer tutors pay for materials only. Once trained, Augustine tutors provide a minimum of 60 hours of free tutoring to a low-income child who struggles with literacy, a market value of $3,000. Augustine staff provide ongoing support and education to tutors and work with schools to match tutors with at-risk readers. Donations of all amounts are welcome. Please complete the enclosed “Be a Spark!” card and honor those who taught you or your children to read by supporting an Augustine tutor who will teach an at-risk child to read. We will send acknowledgment notes to your honorees. Your gift will enable us to say “yes!” when we receive tutor requests.
“To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark.” Victor Hugo
Summer Training Workshop August 4-15, 2014
Fall Training Workshop: September 8-19, 2014
is to improve the reading, writing and spelling skills of low income students who struggle with literacy by providing free, long-term one-on-one instruction from highly trained volunteer tutors.
Augustine L iteracy Project–Charlotte
Email [email protected] for an application.
Augustine Literacy Project (ALP) receives tutor requests from principals, teachers and parents that we cannot fill. Our goal is to train 30 additional tutors for the 2014-15 school year who will assist low-income first– and second– graders who are a year or more be-hind in reading. Augustine students typically show a year’s worth or more of progress after 30 sessions with their tutor. There are two ways you can partner with us to meet the needs of additional at-risk children:
match