Roanoke students offer tutoring program for Salem children

Roanoke College's Education students are reaching out to the Salem community through a pilot program to tutor local children.

In March, a group of Roanoke students who are enrolled in an Education 250 course began partnering with Salem Presbyterian Church to provide a Literacy Enrichment Academic Program (LEAP). Through the program, 25 students offer free tutoring in areas such as study skills, homework, reading, writing, speaking and listening for kindergarten through 6^th graders.

The Roanoke students work one-on-one with the Salem children, under the supervision of nine education mentors. 

Dr. Maria Stallions, chair of Roanoke's Education department who teaches the Education 250 course, helped the department start LEAP because of the Salem community's need for enrichment programs, especially for children who speak English as a second language.

The tutoring sessions, held on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon, have had a large turnout and have received positive feedback from participants, said Stallions. Preparations are being made to continue the program this fall and in the spring of 2017.

Roanoke students and supervisors of Education 250 worked together to design the curriculum used in the program. As part of their preparations for next semester's sessions, the class is designing new curriculum. Education student Danielle Vaughn '17 described one of the lessons for students.

"We want to get to know the kids and ask them to draw a picture of their home and the people in their family," she said. "It is an ice-breaker and a way for them to tell you more about themselves. The beginning of the lesson helps us understand what education level the kids are on."

The LEAP program "expands the classroom and becomes almost a lab" for Roanoke students, said Stallions.

The program has open enrollment and applications are available at Salem Presbyterian Church.