An Elementary Teacher on Having Tutors in Her Classroom – Podcast Episode 142

Classnotes Podcast (June 30, 2014) Skepticism is often the first reaction elementary teachers to the idea of having students from the nearby middle school or high school come into their classrooms as tutors. But once they give it a try, they become some of the loudest advocates for Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tutors. Dr. Laurie Walters, a first grade teacher at the NOW Academy in the Los Angeles Unified School District, talks about the two tutors who spent a semester in her classroom this year for one class period almost daily and the impact they had on the tutees they worked with. She describes how she observed the tutors gain self-confidence, build a relationship with their tutees and help them improve dramatically in both behavior and achievement.

The IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program is a research-based, internationally-recognized dropout prevention program that has kept 98 percent of its tutors in school. It works by identifying junior high and high school students who are in at-risk situations and enlisting them as tutors for elementary school youngsters who are also struggling in school. Valued Youth tutors learn self-discipline and develop self-esteem; schools shift to the philosophy and practices of valuing students considered at-risk. Results show that tutors stay in school, have increased academic performance, improved school attendance and advanced to higher education.

Dr. Walters is interviewed by Dr. Sulema Carreón-Sánchez a senior education associate.

Show length: 12:43

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Resources

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program

http://www.idra.org/coca-cola-valued-youth-program/

Continuities – Lessons for the Future of Education from the IDRA Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program

http://www.idra.org/coca-cola-valued-youth-program/Continuities/

Video: Elementary teacher describes why she likes having a Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program tutor in her classroom. [00:32]

http://view.vzaar.com/1283147/player

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program Student Essays

http://www.idra.org/coca-cola-valued-youth-program/student-essays/

Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program – Strengthening Student Connections with School

by Linda Cantú, Ph.D., IDRA Newsletter

http://www.idra.org/resource-center/coca-cola-valued-youth-program-strengthening-student-connections-with-school/

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