The HOPE Adult Learning program is gearing up for their fall tutor training and is seeking people willing to work with students. HOPE provides tutoring services to adults living in Pearl River, Hancock and Harrison counties.
In the spring of 2008, HOPE Adult Learning Director Donna Daulton started the faith-based program.
“I had a clear calling from God and I was prepared to do this,” she said. “There’s a huge need for adult tutoring and I was meant to help with that need.”
HOPE provides adults with low-level reading skills one-on-one tutoring in an effort to improve their these skills, Daulton said.
The average adults she and her tutors work with are retirement age, she said.
“They spent their lives raising their family and when life slows down, they want to be able to read like everybody else,” Daulton said. “The greatest hardship we have found is dyslexia.”
Daulton defines dyslexia as an unexpected difficulty with language, particularly written.
“They have directionality, but it’s more than that,” she said. “It also deals with associating sounds with letters, remembering names of letters and sight words. In general, there’s been a lack of training. Basic classroom teaching is beyond the scope of what can done to help dyslexia.”
Another aspect, she said, is that many years ago, basic reading was taught by the Dick and Jane sight method, which is difficult for a dyslexic to read.
More than 75 percent of adults who struggle with reading are dyslexic, Daulton said.
Daulton and her tutors utilize the Baron reading and spelling system.
“It’s designed to meet the needs of a dyslexic,” she said. “The program begins with phonemic awareness and moves to reading and spelling systematically in small bits.”
Anyone interested in becoming a tutor must pass a screening, which means he or she must have phonemic awareness, Daulton said. They must also be in agreement with the program’s statement of faith.
After the screening, tutors will undergo training and commit to work with a student for a year, she said. There is a one time training fee. The registration deadline is Aug. 31 and The early registration is $35 and the late fee is $45.
This year’s basic tutor training will take place on Sept. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sept. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 16154 Fire Dept. Rd., Kiln.
“After training, we provide training materials, a student, a location and ongoing support,” Daulton said.
HOPE tutoring is open to adults 18 and older, she said. There is a small materials fee for the program, Daulton said.
“Time and places are all coordinated around what’s convenient for the student and tutor,” Daulton said. “Being dyslexic is not all bad. It’s just an unexpected difficulty. Otherwise, they seem very quick to learn and are smart.”
For more information visit www.hopeadultlearning.com and through Facebook at HOPE Adult Learning.
Interested would be tutors and students may contact Daulton at 228-806-4673.