It’s no secret that we are raising a generation of children who are having trouble reading. Low standardized test scores are in the news every year. And those numbers are the worst in under-resourced neighborhoods where most of the students live in poverty.
Of particular note are low reading scores in fourth grade because children learn to read in grades one through three and read to learn starting in grade four. Those who don’t have reading skills by fourth grade are unlikely to ever catch up. Many drop out of high school.
South End Neighborhood Tutors Inc., known as Wizard’s Wardrobe, is a nonprofit working with Albany city schools to break that cycle. It is a free, one-to-one, afterschool literacy tutoring program for struggling readers in grades 1 through 5 living in Albany’s South End. The focus is on reading, writing and problem solving in a warm, inviting space a block from Giffen School. It also offers summer field trips to broaden our students’ worlds.
As a long-time tutor and board member, I’m delighted to be able to report that our students are thriving. Every one of them comes to us reading below grade level, and one-third were reading on, or above, grade level when we tested them last spring. That’s a major accomplishment.
I’ve tutored at Wizard’s for six years because I love reading, and I know how important it is for success in school and in life. I also know that these children are smart, capable and able to learn with the one-to-one attention, confidence-building, consistency and encouragement they get in the safe, caring Wizard’s Wardrobe environment.
I have witnessed wonderful results. A young girl I tutored for three years - who began school way behind because her family were non-English-speaking - is now on the middle school honor roll.
A first-grader who hid under tables pleading with his tutor not to make him read, wrote a story for our annual anthology that was chosen for publication in Skribbler’s Magazine.
Our Odyssey of the Mind team, part of an international creative problem-solving program, has won first place in its regional division, beating their suburban peers, and has gone to the state competition for the past three years.
These are just a few success stories. There are many more - like the student who couldn’t sit still in school but did pay attention to his tutor, and the student who felt very down on herself until she saw that she could learn to read.
Wizard’s Wardrobe will begin its 10th year of tutoring in just a few weeks - a significant milestone. From seven students just 10 years ago, we had 31 students last year. That is the maximum our space can handle. And we have waiting lists.
Over the coming year, we’re looking to expand into new space to serve more students. We have not identified the space yet and are doing this thoughtfully, so we can grow while maintaining the program’s high quality.
Wizard’s meets it annual budget by raising funds from individuals, corporations, foundations and the occasional government grant. Spending mostly goes to pay for one full-time and two part-time employees who train and advise tutors, provide healthy snacks, assess student progress, coordinate with teachers and families, oversee field trips and run the operation. They make it possible for 57 volunteer tutors to be effective.
Wizard’s Wardrobe’s one-to-one tutoring program takes knowledge, time, effort, patience and money, but it’s all worth it, because it provides the supplement to classroom learning that so many children need to reach their potential. Wizard’s is always looking for tutors (who will be vetted and trained). Learn more at https://wizardswardrobe.org.
Dayle Zatlin is a tutor, board member and treasurer at Wizard’s Wardrobe and a retired public relations executive.
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