Parents take a two-hour course in assisting students pass the 3rd grade tests, sponsored by Learning Leaders, and then are placed in schools open during the summer to bring these third graders up to a level 2 or 3:

LEARNING LEADERS PRESS RELEASE/ REQUEST FOR VOLUNTEERS

3rd Grade Students Need Your Help This Summer. Help a Child Move on to 4th Grade!

Third graders who have not passed the Statewide reading and math tests will not be promoted to 4th grade.
These students will be given another chance to pass these tests in August. They need your help!

We hope you can volunteer over the summer for at least 2 hours per week, for 6 weeks starting July 6th.

Please come to a special Learning Leaders workshop that will prepare you to work with a child on the 3rd
grade ELA (English Language Arts) exam. You will receive:

Information about the social promotion policy and the ELA test.

Test-taking tips and reading comprehension strategies.

A packet of information, a children's book, and activities to do with your child(ren).
See schedule below for dates. Call 212-213-3370 x 345 to register.

Jun. 15, 2004 3rd Grade ELA Exam Preparation Workshop

Downtown Manhattan :: Tuesday, June 15
9am-11:30am
Learning Leaders Central Office
352 Park Avenue South
(between 25th and 26th Streets)


Jun. 16, 2004 3rd Grade ELA Exam Preparation Workshop


Brooklyn :: Wednesday, June 16
9am-11:30am
Brooklyn Central Library
Grand Army Plaza & Flatbush Avenue Staten Island

Brooklyn :: Wednesday, June 16
9am-11:30am
Staten Island Mental Health Society
669 Castleton Avenue

Jun. 17, 2004 3rd Grade ELA Exam Preparation Workshop

Queens :: Thursday, June 17
9am-11:30am
Jamaica Market
90-40 160th Street

Jun. 21, 2004 3rd Grade ELA Exam Preparation Workshop

Uptown Manhattan :: Monday, June 21
9am-11:30am
City College
Convent Avenue &138th Street
(North Academic Center, Room 1/211)

Jun. 23, 2004 3rd Grade ELA Exam Preparation Workshop

Uptown Manhattan :: Wednesday, June 21
9am-11:30am
Hostos Community College
450 Grand Concourse
('C' Cafeteria, 2nd floor)

A 2002 assessment of Learning Leaders commissioned by the organization found that children whose parents participate as volunteers perform better in school than their peers and have better attendance records.



Parents Join Effort to Help Pupils Reach Fourth Grade
By ASHLEI N. STEVENS, NY Times, June 27, 2004

New York City's largest educational volunteer program is extending a hand to third graders who are at risk of being held back under Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's new promotion policy.

Learning Leaders, a 48-year-old organization with more than 14,000 volunteers, has begun an initiative enlisting parent volunteers who will dedicate six weeks to helping children attending summer school to sharpen their skills in English.

"It's the first time we've had a summer initiative of this kind,'' said Digna Sánchez, the group's executive director, noting high interest among parents. "Clearly, the so-called end of social promotion for third graders is a controversial issue." The new initiative, Volunteers for Summer School Success, trained more than 400 volunteers from June 15 to last Wednesday. The two-hour training sessions were conducted in each of the boroughs.

The training was developed in conjunction with the Department of Education in April, shortly after the promotion policy was approved. Under the policy, more than 9,000 third graders who could not achieve a Level 2 score or above on their reading or math tests face repeating the grade. (A Level 1 score is the lowest of four rankings.) They are being encouraged to attend summer school and to take the exams again.

The Volunteers for Summer School Success will focus on English language skills, building students' confidence and skills in the hope that they will pass the English exam at the end of the summer. The adults will sit with the students in the classroom and work under the supervision of the teachers, often providing one-on-one help. Learning Leaders is composed mainly of parent volunteers who have taken many hours of training. Volunteers for Summer School Success, however, is open to non-Learning Leader-certified parents of elementary-age children. The group has waived the usual certification rules for this summer so that more volunteers could participate on short notice.Ms. Sánchez said that of the more than 400 parents and community members who attended the training, about 300 will be able to commit to the full summer school term beginning July 6. The volunteers will be assigned to one of the 300 schools participating in the summer school program for third graders, known as the Summer Success Academy.

Many parents said their training as a volunteer helped them to tutor their own children.

Jackie Philibert heard about Learning Leaders through her daughter's school, Public School 21 in the Bronx, last year. Ms. Philibert said she planned to volunteer for about two hours a week for summer school and about three times a week during the academic year.

"Not only does it help the children, but it helps me learn the techniques I need to deal with my child at home," Ms. Philibert said.

Idalia Rivera has volunteered with Learning Leaders for a year at her daughter's school, Public School 57 in the Bronx. She learned of the program through the parent-teacher association and became interested after receiving a note that her daughter had scored poorly on reading and math exams.

"When I saw the note, I was sad. I thought my daughter wasn't going to pass her grade," Ms. Rivera said. "It makes me feel better that I can help other kids and help my own."

A 2002 assessment of Learning Leaders commissioned by the organization found that children whose parents participate as volunteers perform better in school than their peers and have better attendance records.

Ms. Sánchez said she was making a particular effort to recruit parents who do not speak English well. Spanish-speaking volunteers have been trained with English-speaking volunteers through an interpreter.

"We also thought it was a wonderful way of enticing them to come to this training, get the skills and work with their own second and third graders," Ms. Sánchez said of the parent volunteers. "They really care about what's happening, and they want to help the children with this rite of passage.''