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At the end of kindergarten, Andrew was so far behind other students that his mother wouldn’t allow him to pass to the first grade. She enrolled Andrew in Bethany Brethren Community Center’s after-school tutoring program, and this, coupled with individual attention from his mother and tutor Betty Smith, helped Andrew so much that he’s now leading his class. Now six, he recently won a spelling bee where he competed against fifth and sixth graders.
“He’s a lot more confident,” says Yolanda Moore, director of Bethany’s tutoring program. “He never wanted to do his homework. Now he’s the first one done.”
Students like Andrew are getting one-on-one tutoring and mentorship, thanks to World Vision Chicago’s KidREACH (Relating, Educating, And Communicating Hope) program. KidREACH supports churches as they establish after-school and Saturday tutoring programs for school children. World Vision Chicago’s trains tutors, provides resources, and offers limited financial funding for churches that are ready to act on this vision. Currently, there are approximately 125 tutors helping 235 children at seven sites in low-income communities across Chicago.
Personal attention and academic help can make all the difference for students growing up in troubled neighborhoods. Devon, an 8 year-old student at Bethany, says learning about writing skills and other subjects is what will keep him out of trouble, unlike his older brother who is incarcerated. “He didn’t go to school,” Devon explains. “But I’m not going to go to jail because I go to school. You have to get an education.”
That’s just what Devon does at Bethany’s tutoring program. “This is where I learn,” he says.
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