New gig

So I had my Minnesota Reading Corps orientation today. Nothing too special — a few of those get-to-know-you icebreakers that I don't think I'd done since college, about 4 or 5 hours of PowerPoint presentations going over the handbook we'd just been given (we can probably read that on our own if we're in the Minnesota "Reading" Corps, right?) and a website tutorial that short-circuited rather quickly once we found out that the website wasn't ready to accept our usernames yet.

Here's the particulars of the program:

--It's a division of AmeriCorps, which is like the domestic Peace Corps.

--I will be tutoring kids in grades K-3 at Madison Elementary School (St. Cloud, MN) to help them get up to grade level in reading.

--The program is funded by the federal government and administered by the state. My living allowance (roughly $800 a month after taxes) will not come out of school district funds and I will not be taking anyone's job.

-- I am bound by strict confidentiality rules regarding the kids I'm tutoring, so I won't be blogging about them :)

My initial impressions? Yes, AmeriCorps is a federal program and it does seem to be ruled by a rather complicated, multi-tiered bureaucracy with all kinds of committees, coordinators and administrators, all explained through nearly-indecipherable flow charts. But I think my program, the Minnesota Reading Corps, is an excellent investment.

First of all, it's very targeted and focused. Some of the other AmeriCorps positions I looked at seemed to have vague and ambiguous goals (hey, if it's good enough for our troops in Iraq, I guess it's good enough for AmeriCorps volunteers too, right?). But the MRC has a very simple, straightforward mission: to teach kids to read so they'll be able to handle their textbooks from 4th grade on. It also has very stringent methods for tracking effectiveness. As I understand it, I will be collecting and recording data on the kids' progress daily. Data that will be used to determine how well the program is working and what kind of difference I'm making.

Clearly defined goals, a proven method for meeting them and meticulous data to record how well they're being met. It's no wonder the MRC is one of the rising stars of AmeriCorps. Right now the program is unique to Minnesota but 20 other states have inquired about it and are interested in copying it.

http://www.startribune.com/local/stpaul/36087739.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUss

So, in that sense, I'm a pioneer, and that's exciting. At this point I'm itching to get done with the PowerPoints and get on to the business of teaching kids to read.