Success Stories

LeSeven

LeSeven is a young man with tremendous enthusiasm and a lust for learning.
Due to personal difficulties with chemical dependency, etc. he only
completed 2.25 credits towards high school graduation.

We worked in cooperation with the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services and
convinced them to enroll LeSeven in Clonlara Schools adult education
program. Initially, he completed a "Life Skills" notebook. This determined
which credits he could earn through life skills. LeSeven has held many jobs
and he received a total of 17 credits towards high school through this
process.

He then had 5 credits remaining to receive a diploma. BVR agreed to fund the $8,000 tuition for the remaining credits. The exciting part about this program is that we can create credits that build LeSeven's skills. He has completed a science credit and a geography credit. We studied these subjects but focused on note taking, sentence and paragraph writing.

Initially, he has struggled with discipline in his learning but he is gaining speed. We demand regular on-time attendance so he learns this skill for future jobs.

We have used a small amount of money to purchase books for his courses.
Also, we have agreed to re-enroll at Clonlara with their $275 fee in October.
Finally, because his math skills are very weak, we are tutoring LeSeven in
basic life skills math. None of his required credits for his diploma are in
math. LeSeven should graduate in January. He plans to enroll at Tri-C.

LeSeven completed his graduation requirements ahead of schedule in December. He has grown tremendously in confidence and skills. When he started, he couldn’t write a sentence and his final project was a five-page essay.

Because he received math credits through his life skills experience, we were not able to tutor him through the BVR funding. The dollars spent were to build his math skills. We plan to continue with his math tutoring for several more months to further build these skills.

We originally thought we would have to spend $275 to reenroll LeSeven at Clonlara. We did not need to spend those dollars because Clonlara waived the fee.

On another positive note, LeSeven is now mentoring a new CEI client. This boy recently dropped out of high school with a fifth grade reading level. LeSeven met with Justin and gave him a real pep talk. It truly inspired him and he is doing very well with his new tutor since January 2007.

Da’Vonte

Da’Vonte has been with us since the fall of 2005. He is a bright boy with an outgoing personality and a good capacity for learning. However, due to an illness, he has missed a lot of school. We have coordinated our efforts with those of the school and he has recently returned to full time classes. We have helped him keep up with his class in spite of extended absences and frequent hospitalizations.

He was withdrawn when we met and had little interest in academics. Da’Vonte had been a good student in his early years but, due to a bad experience, had withdrawn from school activities. He has made a terrific turnaround. He has participated in University School’s REACH program for public school kids during the past two summers. Criteria for admission include a willingness to learn in an unfamiliar environment and the energy to participate in a centralized demanding summer program.

The relationship has been personally rewarding. We have had several outings including parks visits and fishing excursions designed to rebuild his confidence, composure and self-image.

Rhonda

Rhonda is a thirty-five year old working housewife and mother of two who is a graduate of the Cleveland Public School system. She came to us to help her develop her reading and writing skills. Her goals are to become a Licensed Practical Nurse and to gain admission to a local junior college. She is hard worker, extremely well organized and focused on self-improvement.

After less than a year she is reading and her comprehension is good. She had a problem with “decoding” which we worked on immediately. She is working with spelling and is producing her own phonetic “flash cards” to build her vocabulary. Recently she began producing her reports based on suggested readings.

Ted

I met Ted 3½ years ago after talking to Carole Richards, our Executive Director. He was over 12 years old. He seemed to be hesitant and afraid to try anything new. Since working with me is always a win -win situation for the student, he reluctantly began to attempt some of the “jobs” I presented to him.

He had what we call an “18 month grip” with a pencil. This was from lack of practice with writing/coloring instruments or from his level of development. He is a Downs Syndrome child. My job was to teach him to read. It looked like I would have to draw on all my experience as a teacher and mother of a handicapped son.

I created materials which would keep him actively involved in the learning process. In the beginning he matched upper case alphabet letters, sequenced the letters of his name and learned the names of colors and shapes. His expressive language was a tremendous deficit. His mom had allowed him to gesture and always anticipated his needs.

I gradually added to his limited skills. He still feels threatened when faced with a new challenge. He has begun to read and is so very pleased with each success. I prepare 8 to 10 activities for each of our tutoring sessions. He can tell time with 80% accuracy. Knows all of his letter sounds and can write short paragraphs. His expressive language has improved tremendously, even though his mom still enables his infantile behavior. He is a definite success story. I have seen him twice a week from the beginning of our relationship. He is going to be 16 soon and would never have attained his level of competency without the intervention that tutoring afforded him.

Nathaniel

While Nathaniel continues to require extensive tutoring, he has made excellent progress. Last school year was a disaster for him. He rarely had any academic success. This year however, he proudly shares his progress reports, pointing out his top grades. His mother and grandmother are delighted with his achievement, believing that tutoring has played an important role in Nathaniel’s improvement.

Although Nathaniel persists to struggle with decoding, he has learned to use some of the decoding techniques practiced in lessons. With some guidance, he is able to decode unfamiliar words. As a result, Nathaniel is less resistant to reading and has actually discovered some enjoyment from stories he has read.

Jamie

Jamie is a sophomore in the Cleveland Public Schools. Her mother was previously a teacher but due to an illness can no longer work. She came to us as a possible Supplemental Services student through the No Child Left Behind Act. Due to incredible red tape, it was impossible to provide her the needed tutoring in chemistry and algebra II through this program.

Mom and I talked numerous times and it was felt that Jamie needed the tutoring to graduate from high school and not become another drop-out. She is motivated, as is the family. She receives tutoring two hours per week through one of our math and science tutors. She is doing well.