The “Covid Slide” is estimated to have caused a learning loss of nearly 50% from the ’19-’20 school year (NWEA, 2020). Children who are not reading at grade level by 4th grade are held back. Teachers don’t always have the time to do one-on-one guided reading sessions with struggling students. Nearly 30% of millennial volunteers say they would participate more often if there were easier ways to find opportunities and more flexibility.
VELLO®, our online tutoring program, pairs teams of passionate professionals with classrooms to provide guided reading support through a safe and secure digital setting. Together, students and volunteer tutors read e-books using simple screen sharing and audio. Volunteers do their weekly 30-minute tutor sessions from anywhere with a computer and internet access, making it easy to do without leaving their workspace. Students have 24/7 access to an extensive e-library for themselves and their family members.
The global spread of COVID-19 brought new challenges to an already strained public education system. Our team adjusted quickly during the initial weeks of the pandemic to assess the needs of our school and community partners through surveys and direct outreach. We worked with teachers and other stakeholders to transition together into a distance learning format, and maintain VELLO® 1:1 reading sessions where capabilities existed. The Digital Divide became more evident as learning moved away from the school setting. VELLO® was drastically impacted by the reality of the situation. Access to internet and individual devices inhibited students from engaging in vital learning capabilities, thus many local United Ways formed local plans to support device distribution and internet connectivity.
VELLO® supported distance learning from March to May and then launched a COVID-19 Summer Response to assess how a new VELLO® model outside of a traditional school setting would work going forward. The Pilot included participants from Phoenix, Philadelphia, and Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada. The new approach focused on developing best practices for virtual reading sessions anywhere a student or volunteer could be, while maintaining safety/security, reading outcomes, a positive experience with VELLO®'s functional elements, and scalability in the years ahead. Moreover, the Pilot positioned data outcomes against known Summer Slide research and the emerging research behind “Covid Slide” that is estimated to have caused a learning loss of nearly 50% from the ’19-’20 school year (NWEA, 2020).
As local United Ways prepare for the new school year and VELLO®'s role in the many learning environments, the new ‘VELLO® Distance Learning’ or ‘VELLO® Anywhere!’ approach will be the primary mode for delivery. Volunteers can be anywhere with an internet-connected device (as always), students can be anywhere with an internetconnected device and the new VELLO® App, and teachers are able to maintain progress monitoring and leverage resources provided by the Raz-Plus teacher suite.
Help provide a classroom with 24/7 access to a virtual library that students can access at home. Give students in that classroom the one-on-one guided reading tutors they need to help them improve their reading skills.
Donate NowBuild a team of employee volunteers to tutor students for a minimum of one 30-minute session per week. In these sessions, volunteers help students think about the story they are reading, sound out words, and other key skills! Email vello@vsuw.org to get started.
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