Homework Club

In the fall of 2007 I visited the ELL class at our local middle school. The students hailed from all over Africa, the middle east, Afghanistan as well as hot spots in Eastern Asia. They were a lively bunch, ready to learn, but struggling to read and assimilate to American culture. As teens the desire to fit in was especially keen for them.

I wanted to do something to make the transition easier.

I found my partner in the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. A nonprofit serving over 6,200, GPLC has offices in a housing complex where many of the teens lived. Myself, another librarian and 2 GPLC teachers set up a tutoring program in one of the offices. Thus Homework Club was born. Our first year we had 5 students. By the second year our enrollment doubled. I found more volunteers: a retired reading specialist, a math teacher, another librarian, and high school honor students from a neighboring community.

By 2008 we were serving up to 30 teens over the school year. Besides coming for help in math, reading, social studies and science, these teens came for a sense of comradery. Each week we swapped stories, aired grievances, shared small victories. I knew when Daruka had a sleepless night or Ndey’s parents worked until midnight, when Yahya had gotten into a fight at school. Each week I was amazed by their diligence and progress. When Yahya started our program he read at a 3rd grade level and barely spoke. By the end, he was reading at grade level and playing varsity football.