DC Reads Program

The George Washington University

Information Manual for Community Partners

2012-13

2012-12 DC Reads Community Partner Manual

Contents:

  1. DC Reads Historyp. 3
  2. DC Reads Todayp. 3
  3. DC Reads Program Staffpp.3-4
  4. DC ReadsProgram Informationpp.5-15
  5. Information for Prospective Partnerspp.5-6
  6. Forming New Partnershipsp. 5
  7. What We Look for in Partnersp. 5
  8. Responsibilities of DC Reads and of the Partnerspp. 5-6
  9. Other Commonly Asked Questionsp. 6
  10. Information on DC Reads Tutors pp. 7-12
  11. Recruiting Tutorsp.7
  12. Selection of Tutorsp. 7
  13. Tutors’ Site Placement and Schedule Assignmentsp. 7
  14. Tutor Start and End Datesp. 8
  15. Expectations of Tutors: The Tutor Contractpp. 8-10
  16. Tutor Attendance Policypp. 10-11
  17. Tutor Vacations: The GW Academic Calendarp. 11
  18. How to handle problems with tutorsp. 12
  19. Federal Work Study (FWS) Informationpp. 12-15
  20. What is Federal Work Study?p. 12
  21. FWS v. Volunteer Tutorsp. 12
  22. The Hiring Processpp. 12-13
  23. Hiring Paperwork and Potential Problemspp. 13-14
  24. How are tutors paid?p. 14
  25. Timesheetsp. 14
  26. Payroll Calendarp. 15
  27. Annual Renewal of Partnershipsp. 16

1. DC Reads History:

DC Reads started as a citywide grassroots program in the mid-1990s in response to the America Reads challenge. The mission was to ensure that every child in the District was literate by the end of third grade. It was organized by Communities in Schools of Washington, DC, in partnership with the Corporation for National Service, District of Columbia Public Schools, American University, Catholic University of America, The George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Southeastern University, Trinity College, and the University of the District of Columbia.

GW’s program, which started in 1997, quickly grew to become the largest university tutoring program in the District – a distinction it still holds. Although it started as a literacy-only initiative, it expanded to include the improvement of math skills, in addition to reading skills.

2. DC Reads Today:

DC Reads tutors spend several hours each week for at least one semester working with elementary school children one-on-one or in small groups through our partnerships with public schools and non-profit tutoring organizations. Our current partners include two public schools (Francis Stevens Education Campus and Thomson Elementary) and 6 non-profit tutoring organizations (AnBryce Foundation Saturday Institute, CentroNia, For Love of Children, Higher Achievement, Reading Partners, and Turning the Page).

In the 2011-12 academic year, 326 GW tutors contributed over 27,000 hours of tutoring in the District!

3. DC Reads Program Staff:

Team Leaders:

Each site is assigned one or two Team Leaders who act as liaisons between the site and the DC Reads office for an entire academic year. They are heavily involved in recruiting and facilitate the interview process for new tutors. Throughout the school year, they stay in contact with the tutors at their site to address questions and concerns, organize reflection opportunities, and stay in touch with community partners to give them any updates and to get information relevant to DC Reads tutors/staff members. They also will be organizing monthly training opportunities for the DC Reads tutors as a whole. They are on site every week and attend meetings with the Program Manager every week, and they are great aides in communication between the site and the office. They are the first point of contact for their site’s tutors.

Program Manager:

The Program Manager is an AmeriCorps VISTA who serves with the DC Reads Program on a full-time basis for a 12-month period. The Program Manager provides the organizational support and guidance for the Team Leaders to formulate program goals, and directs their work to ensure program improvement and sustainability. She coordinates and oversees the day-to-day program work and is in charge of DC Reads recruiting, hiring, training, and special events. The Program Manager meets with the Team Leaders weekly to get updates, to evaluate tutoring and DC Reads events, to plan upcoming events, and to provide any needed support. He is also in contact with the entire cohort of tutors on at least a biweekly basis to provide updates and ensure their connection to the program as a whole.

She also creates monthly newsletters to increase communication between sites.

The Program Manager will remain in direct contact with community partners throughout the academic year with updates and to ensure that things are going smoothly at the sites. He will also periodically make site visits. At the outset of the semester, the Program Manager will provide you with tutor rosters, applications, and schedule information after making site assignments. If you have any concerns or questions at any point, the Program Manager is available to address them.

Program Coordinator:

Emily Penprase has coordinated the DC Reads program (in addition to the Neighbors Project program and, more recently, Alternative Breaks and Community Building Community) since 2010 and provides important consistency through the many staff changes. Emily trains new staff members and directs and oversees all aspects of the program. The Program Manager reports to Emily, and she makes recommendations and provides guidance and assistance.

Emily also is the direct contact for payroll processes. She collects timesheets and makes sure they are submitted in a timely manner, and she enters the records into the Kronos database in order for students to be paid for their time. She also enters time into the Volunteer Match database, which collects hours for credit towards the President’s Volunteer Service Award. (Students who contribute 100-174 hours within the year receive a Bronze Level Award, 175-249 receive Silver, and 250 hours and more receive Gold. Seniors who have served more than 100 hours in their senior year at GW will also graduate with Service Cords. Time that is paid through FWS is still credited towards the award.)

Please direct any questions about timesheets or payroll to Emily, and contact her in the event of serious concerns or any emergency situations.

Director of Community Service:

Sara De Ritter arrived in the summer of 2012 to direct the co-curricular community service programs of the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service (also referred to as “the Center”) – including DC Reads, Neighbors Project, and Special Service Events like Alternative Spring Breaks, Freshman Day of Service, and MLK Day of Service. She is the former Associate Director of Service and Community Partnerships at Northeastern University. She is currently completing her dissertation for her Ph.D.

Director of the Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service:

Amy Cohen has directed and overseen the entire Center since its inception in 2010. She directs all of the university’s major service initiatives, including one-time and ongoing community service programs and partnerships, service-learning, our residential service group (Civic House), and GW’s service grants and awards.

4. DC Reads Program Information:

  1. Information for Prospective Partners:
  1. Forming New Partnerships:

You may apply to become a partner by completing the Google document located online here:

This will allow us to learn more about your organization’s history; the demographics of the population that you serve; staff positions available to support the tutoring program; yourcurricula; tutor training and any resources provided;and how you assess tutees’ progress.

After reviewing your application, the Program Coordinator will be in touch to set up a meeting to discuss the partnership and answer any questions about DC Reads, and to make site visits to tutoring locations. If both parties agree to formalize the partnership, you will be asked to submit a Federal Work Study Participation Agreementand a Tutor Job Posting Form (a copy may be viewed online here: with the Participation Agreement found on pp. 1-6 and the Tutor Job Posting Form on p. 7). These must be signed anew by all partners at the start of each academic year.

  1. What we Look for in Partners:
  1. Serveelementary school studentsbehind grade level in literacy and/or math skills
  2. 1-on-1 or small-group tutoring programs
  3. Curriculum-based programs
  4. Provide tutor training and supervision
  5. Ability to demonstrate program effectiveness through ongoing evaluation
  6. Located within walking distance of a metro station in a safe area
  1. Responsibilities of DC Reads and of Partners

DC Reads:

  • Recruit tutors
  • Interview and select tutors
  • Place tutors at sites based on their preferences and availability
  • Collect and keep on file all relevant paperwork. For tutors with Federal Work Study (FWS) awards, ensure that they are hired through the Career Center.
  • Meet with Team Leaders on a weekly basis and coordinate their work
  • Collect and submit timesheet information to the Career Centerto ensure FWS tutors are paid
  • Work with community partners to resolve any problems with tutor performance
  • Provide monthly supplementary tutor trainings on topics such as education policy and the effect of poverty on education, often by professors and experts in the field
  • Conduct site visits each semester and remain in contact via e-mail.
  • In addition, Team Leaders serve as liaisons between our office and yours and organize twice-a-semester reflection events for the tutors at your site.
  • All community partners are also invited to nominate tutees to come to GW for an Annual Spelling Bee competition, held in April or May.

Partners:

  • Communicate with tutors to make weekly schedule assignments
  • Train tutors in your curricula and topics like behavior management
  • Provide supervision at all times for tutors at the site
  • Track attendance and notify a DC Reads staff member in the event of unexcused or excessive absences
  • Track tutors’ hours via timesheets provided by the DC Reads office
  • Submit timesheets on a biweekly basis, by fax, e-mail, or delivery by a Team Leader
  • Inform the DC Reads office immediately in the event of any problems or concerns and work collaboratively to resolve them
  • Remain in regular contact via e-mail
  • If you choose to, you may also do your own recruiting with the assistance of your Team Leader(s) and by manning a table at the Community Service Fair and/or Federal Work Study Fair at the beginning of the Fall semester.
  • You may also supplement our selection process with your own (such as agency-specific applications).
  1. Other Commonly Asked Questions:
  1. My organization is located near a bus stop, but I see that you require community partners to be within walking distance of a metro station. How flexible are you on this requirement?

Our experience over the years has proven that the metro is a more reliable, more frequent, and easier method of transportation for our students to travel. If you are willing to provide transportation from a metro station to your organization we would consider the possibility of partnering with your organization. The safety of our students is paramount and will be taken into consideration when making decisions about transportation/travel off-campus.

  1. Our program is looking for homework help, and we do not use a curriculum. Are we eligible to apply?

No. Tutors often have no background in teaching or tutoring, so we partner with programs that are curricula-based. While some homework help may take place, most of the tutoring is focused on assisting students who are behind in class in literacy and math skills. Curricula ensure that tutors are using materials proven to be effective, and that the tutees’ progress is easily monitored.

  1. Do I have to pay the tutors anything?

Funding for the FWS DC Reads tutoring program comes from the federal government. As long as the tutoring is for K-6th grade students on literacy and/or math skills, 100% of the tutors’ payment is covered, up to the amount of their Federal Work Study award. If a tutor exceeds the award, they must finish the semester as a volunteer. New tutors are paid $12 per hour. Returning tutors and Team Leaders are paid $13 an hour.

  1. Information on DC Reads Tutors:
  1. Recruiting Tutors:

In the Fall semester, you will be invited to participate in the Federal Work Study Job Fair and in the Community Service Fair. This is a chance to talk with students about your organization and explain why they should get involved in tutoring. You will also be required to submit a Job Posting form to the Career Center, and the opportunity will be listed in the GWork database of FWS opportunities. Many students find out about DC Reads this way.

The Team Leaders, with the support of the DC Reads staff, work hard to promote the program and get more students involved – not just at the site they work with, but at all of our sites. They will be tabling on campus, writing chalk messages on sidewalks, and posting flyers on campus and in dorms. They also ask friends who have leadership roles in various student organizations and fraternities and sororities to share the information with their group. In the past, we have had great success with these methods and have generated a lot of interest (though the number one way method students cite for having heard about the program is

If you choose to post agency-specific flyers on campus, but please work with your Team Leaders to do so, as the contact information and logos of DC Reads must be on any ads (a GW, not a DC Reads, policy).

  1. Selection of Tutors:

Tutors are required to complete an online application (the Google document can be viewed here: and, if invited, participate in a group interview and a DC Reads Orientation session. We discuss the responsibilities and emphasize the commitment, but for the most part, we are not screening for any particular skills or background – though we work with our partners if there is a specific need, such as language skills. The tutors give us information about their first preference for site, as well as other sites they would be able to tutor with if their first choice is not available. We also ask for their availability and the number of hours they would like to commit to each week. We use this information to make site assignments. After the tutors are assigned to sites, we send our partners the students’ applications (which provide their contact information as well as why they want to tutor and any special skills or talents they can offer) and their schedule information, and they then contact the students to inform them of next steps (such as pre-service training and their tutoring schedule).

  1. Tutors’ Site Placement and Schedule Assignments:

Tutors are given the opportunity to specify which site is their first choice. They also fill out information at the mandatory DC Reads Orientation to let us know what hours they are available and how many hours they are hoping to work each week. After the Orientation and Interviews, we take all accepted candidates’ preferences and schedules into account, as well as the needs and requests of the community partner, and assign tutors to sites. We send each partner a list of the applications from the tutors assigned to their site, along with information on their schedule availability/requests. The partner then sends those tutors an e-mail to inform them of site-specific next steps, such as the dates of training and any TB testing or background check requirements. Partners work with the tutors directly to assign them to specific weekly schedules – though we also may assign tutors to weekly tutoring schedules upon request.

  1. Tutor Start and End Dates:

Tutors apply and are selected for the program by late-September, and they are required to submit all paperwork by early in October.

When a tutor is ready to start, she should give you a “Golden Ticket” that looks like this:

When you receive this, it signifies that the student has agreed to the contract, signed a liability waiver, completed background check processes, and is ready to begin tutoring. Please do not allow anyone to tutor before this point.

Tutors are not required to tutor after classes have ended for the semester. The final day of classes in the Fall will be December 7th, and in the Spring it will be April 29th. While students may choose to work over their winter or spring breaks (if they are in DC), the final day they may be paid for their time through FWS in 2012 was April 28th, and the date will be similar for 2013.

  1. Expectations of Tutors: The Tutor Contract:

Each tutor must sign a copy of the Tutor Contract before they may begin, and they must put their initials beside each separate responsibility to indicate their understanding and agreement. This is what the contract looks like (front and back):