As we come to the end of another school year, and after making the tough decision to transition solely back to in-classroom mentoring, we’ve been reflecting on all that was accomplished these past couple years through the Virtual Literacy Mentoring Program.

In March 2020, with schools transitioning to remote learning, the ENP team also had to transition its programing. Summer 2020 was a busy time for all of our volunteers as well, as they helped distribute books, literacy packets to students, and even personalized birthday book drop offs to kids who were stuck at home.

As we entered the 2020-21 remote school year, literacy mentors, teachers and ENP united to create a virtual program for our students. With the help of Tutorfly.org (now GoSchoolBox.com) and Microsoft Teams access through FUSD Mentoring Office, literacy mentors were able to duplicate the program they’d been using in the classroom, just now all online. Literacy mentors worked with students virtually one-on-one several times a week.

“It has been one of the most impactful and rewarding experiences of my life. Through this opportunity of teaching, I ended up learning a lot myself. This opportunity opened my eyes to a greater need in my community and now more than ever I want to dedicate my time and efforts to make as many positive impacts in my community as I can.” – Mentor

And they didn’t miss a beat, we saw a large improvement with an average 67% increase overall in high frequency word recognition from February to May 2021. The 138 literacy mentors served 285 students across 21 schools. Not only did the literacy mentors meet individually with students, our 43 Read Fresno mentors led 5 after schools sites via Zoom and assisted in 6 different learning hubs, putting in over 7,900 hours of mentoring. Our literacy mentors were able to deliver 77 take home literacy kits to their students with the help of our partners Golden 1, Katey’s Kids, and Fresno Rotary. What a whirlwind of a year!!

“This is such an amazing opportunity for my six that are benefiting from the program. I hope those Fresno State students realize how valuable they are, especially when these kids need that one-on-one human connection.” – Teacher

The 2021-22 school year brought additional shifts in programming, as we were able to be back on campus in a limited capacity, while continuing with our online program. Thirty-one literacy mentors worked with 47 students online across 28 schools, and more take home literacy bags were given out.

Ingenuity was afoot; many mentors created their own games to play with their students or found additional resources online to keep their students engaged. From creating word search puzzles with the high frequency words, to playing snakes and ladders, reading books together, and incorporating fun holiday games, the literacy mentors really demonstrated their investment in our students!

The students’ success was due in large part to the relationships that were built and fostered between mentors, families, and teachers. Thank you to all the teachers, families, and mentors who joined us on this journey. We could not have done it without you!

“I liked how that it helped my son’s excitement for reading. Thank you. We appreciate the time, patience and encouragement.” – Parent

“The mentor inspired me with confidence and I am happy that they help me to learn a little more, thank you very much.” – Mentee