BY M A R G A R E T C U R R I E I L LU S T R AT I O N BY G E R A L D I N E S Y
NURTURING LITERACY A partnership with a local community organization boosts kids’ reading skills while expanding horizons for Elmhurst students.
“Many of our students are behind in school, whether that’s Lindsay Piña Garcia ’20 understands all too well the pain because they lack English-language skills or because of of being unable to communicate. Born in Mexico, she their recent immigration status,” says Mindy Inman, moved to the United States as a young child and didn’t speak English when she started kindergarten. “I didn’t have director of volunteer services at the center. “This program meets that specific need.” any friends because it was really hard to communicate,” she recalls. So when Piña Garcia had the opportunity to tutor local dual-language children in reading and writing as part of the University’s York Literacy Project, she signed up right away. “I’m motivated to help others learn to express their wants and needs, because I remember what it feels like when you can’t do that,” she says. Established in 2018, the York Literacy Project connects Elmhurst students with underserved elementary students, many of them English-language learners, at York Community Resource Center in Lombard. Some 10 to 15 Elmhurst undergraduates visit the center once a week during the school year to work with kids on reading, writing, spelling and comprehension. 34
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A FOCUS ON STORIES
The program uses a story-based curriculum that supports development in both English and Spanish. The Elmhurst students work with one or two students at a time, reading stories in both languages and talking about how the various elements of a story fit together. “A robust body of academic research shows that kids with stronger narration skills are better readers and writers and do better in school,” says Brenda Gorman, professor of communication sciences and disorders at Elmhurst and a program leader. “Stories are a wonderful way to celebrate children’s rich home cultures and languages while simultaneously strengthening language skills and comprehension.”