After being unemployed for nearly a year, I secured a position as a VISTA. A local organization was hiring associates to help in the public school summer education program, and the funding was provided through AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps is the domestic version of the Peace Corps. I will be serving as a Volunteer In Service To America for 8 weeks, and I am not allowed to hold any other job during this time. I receive a living allowance and a stipend for grad school or to pay off loans. Because the position is only for 8 weeks, I am hoping the experience will lead to a full time position within the organization that interviewed me, or a year-long position as a VISTA, performing a different task. Grad school is also on the horizon, so I have some big decisions coming up for this fall!
My job this summer is to assist the teacher in and out of the classroom with the children and anything related to the summer education program. We will be working with about 40 first graders, most of whom are being considered for retention. Our subject is ELA; other teaching professionals are teaching Math. Not all 40 of the students will be in the class at the same time. Instead, part way through the day, they will be switching classrooms.
My training was a little less than two weeks in length. I got certified in CPR and swore to uphold and protect the constitution of the United States. Several days covered policies and procedures, and then we finally got paired up with the teachers and support staff and were introduced to the curriculum.
I was excited to meet my colleges. The teacher for our classroom is fresh out of college and this is her first teaching job aside from some subbing and title 1 teaching. She's a cute little thing, nervous and excited about the summer education program. I can tell that she feels a lot of pressure to teach the kids everything they need to go on to second grade in a very short period of time. We only have 6 weeks to make a difference.
Our para-pro is 18. He got this job because his dad has connections. His dad wanted him to have a "real job." He said he didn't even want it at first, but now he is starting to get more excited. There was a little hiccup when they discovered he hadn't yet had two years of college and couldn't be considered as a para-pro. He is now known as an "instructional tutor." I don't think he is very happy about that.
I have to digress a moment and talk about the tutor. This kid as gone more places and done more things in his short life then I anyone else I know. He obviously has come from money, and I believe working with these students is going to be a real eye-opener for him. At least I hope to goodness it is. Friday he confessed to us that he thought the summer education program was for kids whose parents had paid for them to take a summer enrichment program. We were all like "nope." He was completely surprised to learn that I didn't have a dishwasher. And he couldn't fathom having only one bathroom for a family of four. I can't wait to see how this experience impacts him.
Later, we were assigned a different para-pro, the only one among us who is experienced with this public school system and the summer education program. Alas, it looks like we will be losing her since we already have three people for our classroom and some people only have one.
Our first day in the classroom was a lot of work. Everything was dirty and there was no space to store our materials. The teacher who uses that classroom during the regular school year had all her drawers and cabinets locked, and all the shelves covered over with paper. Although I don't blame her, this was not helpful. Some furniture got moved into the classroom for us, and it too was dirty and dated. There was no carpet on the floor. Sadly, I imagined the children at "circle time" and independent reading time, sitting on the cold, hard tile floor in their shorts and flip flops. My own ankles ached a little imagining this. There were not enough desks, so some tables had to be brought in. The insides of the desks were filthy. Everything had to be sanitized and swept, this done with little resources. We hadn't even received enough materials for every student to have his own pencil.
By the end of the second day the classroom was beginning to look warmer and more inviting. We helped the teacher put things onto the walls and windows. Two days wasn't nearly enough time to get the classroom ready, but we did pretty well with what we had. Other teachers who were more experienced fared better.
Tomorrow is our first day with the children. The building will open at 7:05 AM and the children will arrive 40 minutes later. We have 24 days to teach the children the knowledge they need to go on to the next grade level. For some of them, we will be the only positive adults in their lives the whole summer. Some of them will only eat at school. Some of them will take home food on Thursday for their families that has been provided by another organization. Hopefully for all of them, this summer will be the difference they need to later stay in school, graduate, and go on to college. Only 24 days. I've got the coffee maker set and ready to go in the morning. I pray I am ready.
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