Warmer weather, sunny days, soccer practice, renewed energy–all signs of spring at VU. But homework, reading, and math skills practice continue despite the increased squirminess and impatience to get back outside (kids and volunteers)! Recently, we asked all our students what book they would like to own and tracked their…
We blinked and the 2018 semester at VU was ending! What a great time it was. Attendance was steady; we added some new students; and our experienced and new volunteers worked cheerfully to help with homework, build skills, and listen to young readers. We’ve maintained our commitment to more student writing and improving…
Look who’s experimenting! VU students love the high school volunteers who share their time with us, especially when one of them comes up with a cool extra. One of our long-time high school volunteers planned and executed a science experiment with help an assistant from the Children’s Science Center, located…
They came back! Some are taller; some have new braces; some have sun-streaked hair: all are ready to tackle a new year of learning and growing. And the volunteers-some returning and some brand new-are eager to help.
VU is gearing up for the 2018-19 school year. The board has been working behind the scenes to get ready to welcome students back to after-school sessions to do homework, build skills in reading and math, and have some fun learning. If you are already a volunteer, then you know…
We’ve been having a great time this spring with an initiative to encourage the kids to write more. With daily prompts that ask such questions as What would be your superpower? or start with “When I woke up this morning and went outside, something fell on my head…” we have…
It’s winter. Sometimes getting out of the house or leaving work to get to VU at 4:15 p.m. means braving the wet and cold. A volunteer might be tempted to think “they won’t miss me this one time. There’s lots of help.” Oh so wrong! We depend on our volunteers…
Report cards started coming in a week or so ago, and we now have just about all of them. It’s hard to believe it’s the second quarter already! One notable thing about the report cards is that the kids in grades 5 and 6 who have been coming to VU…
Parents are such important partners at VU. They faithfully bring their children to do their homework and read with our volunteers, often waiting at NRC for 90 minutes while their kids work. Over the past year, a couple of moms and dads have asked us to help them learn English…
After opening on September 18, VU has been up and running! Most Mondays and Tuesdays so far we have been averaging 15 students each night. And in addition to the seasoned volunteers who returned, we have oriented more than a dozen new volunteers so far! I know it’s a bit…
