MEDIA CONTACTS:
- Andrew Cauthen, Communications Manager, [email protected], 470-553-4408 (c)
- Quinn Hudson, Chief Communications Officer, [email protected], 470-522-8923 (c)
- Sloan Turner, Public Relations Specialist, [email protected], 470-393-8348 (c)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 1, 2022
DeKalb Seeks Volunteers for Virtual Tutoring Program
Experience Corps program brings students and seniors together
DECATUR – The DeKalb County Human Services Department is recruiting volunteers to participate in their tutoring program designed to help DeKalb students improve their reading skills.
Volunteers are needed for the 2022-2023 school year.
The AARP Experience Corps is an evidence-based literacy program that improves the reading skills of children in kindergarten through the third grade for the past two years. The Department is working in collaboration with the United Way of Greater Atlanta, the AARP Foundation and the DeKalb County School District on this initiative. Recent data shows that DeKalb students on average have a reading proficiency of 26 percent, which means that 74 percent of students are reading below grade level.
This tutoring program achieves reading proficiency results focusing on students who are 1-2 grades behind in reading grade level. The Experience Corps Program is designed to be implemented by volunteers who are 50 years old and older. Volunteers must have a high school diploma or G.E.D. to participate. Experience Corps is a national program that has produced positive mental and physical health benefits for the older adult volunteers.
The program follows the school district’s calendar through May 2023. Tutoring sessions will be scheduled for in-person and hybrid settings due to the ongoing pandemic and school choice. Participating DeKalb schools include: Stoneview Elementary, Pine Ridge Elementary, Murphy Candler Elementary, E.L. Miller Elementary, and Redan Elementary.
To learn more about the program, please contact Mussettee H. Hill, senior program coordinator, by email at [email protected] or complete an online application at www.unitedwayatlanta.org/aarp-volunteer-application.
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