By Gillian Pace, 2019-2020 Literacy First Tutor Through the past year of tutoring, my understanding of reading instruction has improved tremendously. Before I learned about Literacy First, most of my knowledge came from personal experience. My memories of early literacy are reading with my parents or little brother. I didn’t have any formal knowledge of […]
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Blog
Finding a Voice Through Reading
By Kylee Pearl, 2019-2020 Literacy First Tutor There are some things you can never be prepared for when it comes to teaching. Although there are many lessons you learn while tutoring, one lesson that has, somewhat unexpectedly, impacted me the most is the relationships I have made with my students. Every kid is different. You […]
Read MoreA Letter to My Students
By Amanda Woodle, 2019-2020 Literacy First Tutor Dear Students, I am sorry I could not tell you this in person, and I am so sad that we had to say goodbye sooner than expected. But more importantly, I am so proud of all of the hard work you have put in and all that you […]
Read MoreThe Last Day
By Lauren, 2019-2020 Literacy First Tutor At the time, I was completely unaware that Thursday, March 12th would be my last day of tutoring. As far as I knew, it was a normal weekday. I do not remember much of the school day, but I do remember choosing a t-shirt to wear to field day […]
Read MoreLearning, Working, and Thriving from Home
Resources During COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Pandemic
The following is a compilation of resources members of the Literacy First and Central Texas community have shared during these extraordinary circumstances.
A Literacy First Tutor’s Favorite Things
By Rachel Peterson, 2019-2020 Literacy First Tutor My Team By the end of our Pre-Service Training, I had interacted with as many of the 50+ Literacy First AmeriCorps members as I could. The 2nd/3rd year leaders were stationed around the room with signage to welcome their new crews. My name was called with three members […]
Read MoreCommunity Comes Together for 26th Annual Swearing In Ceremony
For the 26th consecutive year, Literacy First welcomed a new cohort of AmeriCorps members to the program with an inspiring Swearing In Ceremony. More than 50 tutors officially pledged a year of service at the Thompson Conference Center on Monday, September 9th. Dr. Mary Ellen Isaacs, Literacy First Director, opened the ceremony with a message on the persistent […]
Read MoreA Diploma, a Lot of Hope, and Other Random Things I Could Fit in a Duffle Bag
Literacy First tutors come from many different backgrounds, hometowns and life stages, and each of their paths to AmeriCorps service is unique. One of the utmost priorities of Literacy First is making sure every single one of our tutors finds community and a strong system of support, both leading up to and during their service […]
Read MoreWork Hard, Play Smart!
by Audrey Dolan, 2018 – 2019 Literacy First tutor Whenever you move somewhere new, you always want to go out and explore to see what your new city has to offer. In Austin, that’s especially true because there are so many cool, fun, unique, and even “weird” things to do here! However, you’ll soon come to find that the […]
Read MoreEat Like an AmeriCorps Member
By Elizabeth Zimmerman, 2018-2019 Literacy First Tutor Most people think that living on the (admittedly small) AmeriCorps stipend means that you have to sacrifice your favorite foods or give up eating out to save money. There are several ways that you can have it all while still staying on budget. Here are my tips for saving money on food during your […]
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