Teen Trendsetters Reading Mentors

To kick off my new practicum that I will be doing at Smyrna West Alternative School, I will try to be brief since I do not have much time to type right now. (I'll continue later, but I want to get as much out as possible now since I'm on my computer.)

I met Kelly Messerly, an English/Reading/Librarian/Service Learning teacher from Smyrna West, at a conference I went to last semester (Fall 08) to get certified to teach service learning in the secondary school. She told me that her principal encourages her to sign up for anything that is free, and she had received some info about a free trip to Orlando, FL to learn about a reading program called Teen Trendsetters. She knew little information about the program, but thought it was worth looking in to. The program required a lead teen, and since she teaches at an alternative school, a lead teen may not be the best option since some of her students come and go throughout the year. It seemed to her at a college student would be a great fit, especially in the beginning the implementation of the reading program.

I signed up, we went to Florida, and it was free and fun! They gave us free meals, airfare, and an afternoon at Universal Studios! It was a fun way to get to know Kelly better, and I am really looking forward to helping her get this program started.

What we learned at the workshop in Orlando is that TTRM (Teen Trendsetters Reading Mentors) is a reading program that up until this point has only been implemented in the state of Florida. They have grown and seen many positive changes and now wish to see the program spread throughout the country. Kelly and I met a teacher and her lead teen from Eagleville High School, which is a small school in Rutherford Country, and we hung out with them throughout the workshop. We are keeping in touch with them to help each other out with starting the program. In TTRM, we will be sending high school students to mentor 3rd graders at a nearby elementary school (David Youree--my mom teaches 2nd grade there!). The program gives us free books that the high school mentors will give to the 3rd graders (mentees) to keep! It sounds like a really great way for lower achieving high school students to gain confidence and take up a different role than they are used to taking! They are used to being the students, and in this program, they will act as the reversal--the mentor and leader. It's great for high school students and it gives the 3rd graders someone besides their teacher and EAs to look up to. And they get free books! I will get more specific about the program as I go along.

Kelly and I have been emailing each other, and I am meeting with her and the 3rd grade representative, Angela Montgomery in a few days. I will also be meeting the high school students sometime early next week. Kelly and I still need to work out scheduling. Also, a problem we have right now is we do not have enough high school students. TTRM requires 15, so hopefully we will get some more, and Kelly may be able to work something out with Teecy, the head of the program in FL.

This has been long, and I haven't even gone over all of it! More to come of course.

Elizabeth