Madison House offers a wide variety of tutoring programs for UVA volunteers who want to work with students, ranging from elementary school years through high school. Hannah Douglas, Sonia Patel, and Alyssa Underwood are the Head Program Directors of the elementary school programs.
Sonia Patel is a Head Program Director for elementary tutoring programs at Madison House.
Sonia, a fourth-year UVA student majoring in Cognitive Science, explains the elementary school programs. Each elementary school–Johnson Elementary School, Venable Elementary School, Broadus Elementary School, and Peabody Elementary School–have two opportunities for UVA students to volunteer. In Cavs in the Classroom, UVA students aid teachers and students with the lessons and provide extra help. “You adjust to the teacher's needs based on what classroom you are working in,” Sonia explains. In Multilingual Tutoring, on the other hand, volunteers help students native in other languages who are building their English language skills. A testament to the programs’ value, in 2020-2021, they were conducted remotely so that the students could still connect with UVA volunteers and receive support. Teachers did not want to forgo the additional helpful assistance for their students.
Having worked as a tutor for five years, Sonia values working with children and aspires to become a pediatrician. “I enjoy the energy that they give and the passion for learning that they have in them,” says Sonia. “One thing I enjoy most about tutoring is that moment when you realize that they finally understand the concept/topic you are talking about. You can instantly see the happiness and relief on their face and it’s really rewarding to see that.”
Though Hannah does not anticipate a future of working with kids, she similarly values the program. “For me personally, I just wanted a way to feel a part of the Charlottesville community, and I knew tutoring would be a great way to do that because I enjoyed it so much in high school. For me it didn’t really relate to what I wanted to do in the future but was rather a way to get community service through a method I had previously enjoyed,” she explains.
March is National Reading Month.
UVA fourth-year student Eugenie “Gigi” McLeod is a literacy tutor through these elementary school programs. “Typically, I help teach first grade students how to read and write through fun games, 1-on-1 reading, and various exercises,” she explains.
Maggie Dykstra, a first-year student, has been volunteering at Venable Elementary since October 2022 with Cavs in the Classroom teaching fourth grade math. She says, “Each week, the teacher runs through the class instruction and then gives out a few class questions. I sit next to the students who need a little bit more help. Then when she sends them off to do their individual activities–that takes around 45 minutes–I sit with the students who are struggling the most with each concept. I try to be a support in addition to their teacher.”
The tutoring programs are always seeking new volunteers. Scheduling can be extremely flexible, considering that elementary school students meet primarily with one teacher for the whole day. Most student tutors connect with the teacher of their classroom and adjust their tutoring structure to fit the teacher’s needs.
Maggie recommends that every UVA student volunteer as a tutor sometime in their undergraduate experience. She has built relationships with the students in her 4th grade classroom and is connected with the broader outside Charlottesville community. “At some point college seems like a fake reality, and this experience grounds me. It puts me back in the sense that I am in a community greater than myself,” says Maggie.
Gigi agrees, saying, “I enjoy being a part of this program because it allows me to develop personal relationships with members of the Charlottesville community that I wouldn’t otherwise get to meet within the bubble of UVA. This has allowed me to gain a better understanding of the needs of our community as well as better understanding of myself. Overall, the tutoring program is incredibly rewarding, as you can clearly see the impact you are making in the students' attitude about school and in their reading and writing improvement.”
As March, National Reading Month, comes to a close, UVA students are encouraged to try volunteering. If interested, students can connect with one of the Head Program Directors, Hannah Douglas, Sonia Patel, and Alyssa Underwood, or sign up on GivePulse.
Author: Cecilia Murphy