America Reads:

Do you have work study? Do you like working with kids? Do you want to be part of a work study job on campus that has the ability to make an impact on the surrounding Springfield community? Would you like to build your own work schedule? If you answered yes to any of these questions, America Reads is the program for you!

America Reads is a service program based in local public schools that focuses on increasing the learning of the children enrolled through tutoring and mentoring from students like you and me.

“In Springfield public schools, there are typically large class sizes and very limited resources. Our program works to support both the teachers and the students of these schools by placing more people in the classroom to provide more one-on-one and small group attention, despite the lack of resources,” said Carter McClintock, the Community Outreach Specialist in the Center for Civic Engagement here on campus.

America Reads is supportive of its student tutors as it searches out perfect matches for schools and classrooms, making sure to fit the tutors specific availabilities and strengths. Each tutor receives a specific training prior to being placed in a classroom and once the experience has begun, the tutor is able to find even more support from the different offices and teachers of his or her school. The America Reads Program is well-known and well-respected throughout the community.

Right now, Western New England and the Center for Civic Engagement have a group of 40+ students tutoring on 12+ different sites. The program is for the students, run by the students. It boasts two inspiring, responsible student coordinators who are unbelievably dedicated to the program’s progress and well-being.

The two student coordinators, Meghan Cobane and Sam Cortes, will be attending a four day conference called Impact in Valparaiso, Indiana to meet other coordinators from all over the country and share what our program is about.

“At this workshop, we’re going to be presenting about the workings of our program. This conference will give us the chance to see other programs and get feedback about ours, as well. It’s substantial to prolong and better our program,” said coordinator Sam Cortes.

The program is a great opportunity to get involved in the community surrounding Western New England while earning a work study award.

“The program provides a great learning opportunity and hands-on experience outside of the traditional Western New England classroom. It gives tutors professional experience and helps them grow in a way that they wouldn’t necessarily grow in a classroom,” said Cortes. 

“The program is [also] a great leadership opportunity. It brings our students into the Springfield community and outside of their comfort zone here on campus,” added coordinator Meghan Cobane.

The America Reads program not only provides mentoring opportunities, but it also creates a chance for the students from campus to meet with each other every month to connect through their varying experiences. 

“Often during our reflection sessions, tutors will come in and say how awesome they feel when they walk into a classroom and see their students get excited,” said Cobane.

The program is progressing at an excellent rate and with the help of the student coordinators, it will continue to progress.

“Our goal is to provide students with a great experience, but also to allow children of the community to obtain the presence of role models,” said Cortes.

Students interested in applying to the America Reads Program should visit the Center for Civic Engagement on the second floor of the campus center for more information.

"Not only an educational experience, but a motivating call to action:" MLK Days of Action 2014

About 2 weeks ago, we had a three day weekend in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Center for Civic Engagement held its annual MLK Days of Action on Sunday, January 19th, and Monday, January 20th so that students could learn about Dr. King and work with a couple different organizations in the community. 

Twelve students from our campus community came together over the two days and made an impact in the Springfield community while learning about the teachings and struggles of Dr. King as well as issues of social justice.

One of the most memorable learning activities was the creation of an "Archie Bunker Neighborhood," where the participants of the workshop were split into three different groups and given a fixed amount of money and supplies to build their neighborhood. Each neighborhood was confined to strict boundaries, enforced by a mayor, sheriff and deputy and each was subject to different levels of support or, in some cases, harassment.

Senior participant Samuel McLaren explained, "[This] activity aimed to develop an understanding of the consequences of segregation both on the individual and community levels. For this activity, I was the representative of the highly discriminated group and felt just a glimpse of what [Dr. King's life] felt like. There was a point where my group and I felt more comfortable in jail than we did in our designated community."

Aside from learning about the teachings and life of Dr. King, the participants worked with two different community organizations: The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and The Children's Study Home.
Junior Kaylene Hersey said of working with The Food Bank: "From first sight, I thought there was enough food there to get me through a few years and yet, it wasn't enough to feed all of the people that needed it. This was such an eye opener to me."

Learning about the issues of food insecurity in the Springfield community was not the only significant part of Hersey's experience with the food bank.

"Once I saw the stacks of boxes we had filled in just an hour and a half, I knew we had made a difference. It was a good feeling, a really good feeling. I didn't expect it at all," she said.

On day two of the experience, participants were given the choice between returning to the Food Bank or working with a different community organization: The Children's Study Home.


"Although we didn't interact with the children, it was still an amazing experience. We repainted some of the rooms of the home and helped with some paperwork. The women [who work at the Study Home] that we worked with told us that we saved them $500 alone with that one day of painting," said Junior Jasmine Chatman. "This was a humbling experience because none of us are professional painters but we all worked together to achieve a goal that the Study Home really wanted and needed."


The weekend served as a learning experience and an excellent opportunity for service.

Chatman said, "This weekend was about giving back, no matter how big or small. One act of kindness, even if it's just painting a door or a bathroom, can make a huge difference."

McLaren encouraged students of the future to participate in this workshop: "Students should participate to give them a better realization of the struggles this country faced in the past and continues to face in the present. It is not only an educational experience but a motivating call to action for people to understand issues around social justice and to form opinions and develop a proactive stance against it."

Students sorting food at the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Photo Credit: Koni Denham

 

Students planning and discussing a small budget for weekly groceries. Photo Credit: Koni Denham