Our students often can’t wait to share news with their tutors.
I remember the day when this 7th grade student arrived in her first US school in the 4th grade. Niya was shy at first and so very nervous. She often wore the fanciest dresses to school, the ones I wore to high school dances with high heels and make-up.
I taught at Ibarra and she was in my small group learning the alphabet and her numbers and in time, how to add and subtract. It was so difficult to teach her math skills while she was just learning English that I insisted a Swahili-speaking friend come into class one day just to say things like ‘regrouping’ and ‘place value’ in a language she could understand. It only seemed fair.
Niya has come so very far since those early days. School has been a struggle for her. She has moved over a dozen times. Her mother is hardly available, as life in the US presents struggle upon struggle. But, Niya’s tutors have stepped in. They have forged relationships with her mother and brother in addition to her. They tutor her consistently. They show up when she sings at church. They check in with on the weekends to see how she is doing. They encourage her to run on her school’s track team.
So, I shouldn’t have been surprised the other day when I asked her how her grades were and she said, with much enthusiasm, “I have straight Bs!!!!!” And, when I asked if she had told her tutor yet, she quickly exclaimed, “OH! SHE WAS THE FIRST ONE! When I got my grades, I called her!”
I should have known. Our tutors have communicated by their presence that education matters. That education is the way forward.
Support our students and their tutors by joining us at our first gala, which is just around the corner. Go HERE to get all the details- and your tickets!