By Dr. Linda Baker, Professor Emerita, Psychology Department
The Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities, directed by Dr. Mavis Sanders, is interested in creating connections with other organizations on campus, including the Wisdom Institute. The Sherman Center has partnerships with four Title 1 schools in Baltimore, providing support for students in PK-Grade 2, their teachers, and their parents. The Center also works with other community organizations providing support for families and children from birth to Grade 2 and is host to the Maryland Early Childhood Education Leadership program (MECLP). For more information, see the Sherman Center website https://shermancenter.umbc.edu/. The UMBC News story that you can access from the home page provides a good overview of the Center activities.
One of the Sherman Center’s partner schools is Maree G. Farring, a Title I school in the south Baltimore neighborhood of Brooklyn. The principal, Ben Crandall, and the literacy coach, Dr. Joy Guthrie, are seeking volunteers to participate in an online initiative to improve the reading skills of children in grades 3 to 5. As a member of the Sherman Center Advisory Board, I will serve as a liaison. Here is a summary of what the program will entail:
· The program needs 10-15 volunteers overall, with about half coming from the Wisdom Institute.
· Each volunteer will work with four students twice a week in individual sessions lasting about 15 minutes. The time commitment each week is about two hours.
· Volunteers listen to the student read a passage for fluency that is taken from the school’s Language Arts curriculum, provide support, encouragement, discuss vocabulary, and talk about connections with what they already know.
· Students will be in grades 3, 4, and 5 and in need of extra reading support.
· The volunteers will receive training on working with the students.
· The project will begin this semester and last for about 15 weeks.
· BCPSS will provide the platform for the virtual sessions.
· Students can be pulled out from their classrooms between 9:15 and 2:30 for the sessions.
If you are interested in participating, or if you have questions, please contact me, Linda Baker, baker@umbc.edu, in January so we can begin planning.
The Sherman Center and MECLP will also be exploring other opportunities for engagement with members of the Wisdom Institute, such as mentoring and guest speaking. Your suggestions are welcome.