海角大神

In an otherwise ordinary District of Columbia classroom, something transformative is going on in the lives of young learners.

Gathered around small tables, groups of second- and third-graders have stayed after school for extra help to catch up with their peers in reading and writing.

What鈥檚 unusual is that the tutors are only about six to eight years older 鈥� high school students who themselves have been struggling academically or socially. And it seems to be working like a charm.

In one corner of the room, the task for third-graders Anthony and Diont茅 on this day late in the school year is to assemble short books, with stories and pictures of their own making. Anthony鈥檚 book is called 鈥淎ndrew the Dragon Slayer.鈥� Diont茅鈥檚 is about a boy who wants to be a basketball player but has trouble being disciplined enough to make it to the practices.

Watching over them is Jaleel, a 10th-grader who provides a gentle nudge when needed. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 your picture going to be?鈥� he asks as he points to a blank space on Anthony鈥檚 page.

The younger kids are learning to put one word after another. Jaleel says he鈥檚 learning about leadership, including 鈥済etting out of the shell of being quiet.鈥� He patiently watches the boys, stepping up with guidance when needed but not doing any of the work for them.

The man who founded this program, Mark Hecker, says the idea is that by being paired together both the tutors and the students can discover potential they didn鈥檛 know they had 鈥� not just in literacy but in life.

Mr. Hecker says he knows full well that the growth won鈥檛 always happen quickly or smoothly 鈥� not when the participants are often confronting difficult circumstances in their lives that can include poverty, domestic violence, or drug abuse in their families. So the program, called Reach Incorporated, is rooted in a philosophy of unconditional love and support.

鈥淩eading and tutoring becomes the vehicle through which we can provide that support,鈥� which can ultimately change lives, Hecker says. 鈥淲e all know that quote about it taking a village [to raise a child]. But there aren鈥檛 a lot of opportunities to create that village in some of our more challenging urban neighborhoods.鈥�

So, for Hecker, one of the most important ways to measure Reach鈥檚 success is by the staff鈥檚 refusal to believe in failure. The tutoring is a paid job for those who do it, but tutors aren鈥檛 鈥渇ired鈥� or kicked out of the program if they don鈥檛 do what鈥檚 being asked of them.

One boy, named Tre鈥橲hawn, barely came at all during his first year. (At Reach鈥檚 request, this article uses first names only for the young people, for their privacy.) As Hecker sees it, Tre鈥橲hawn 鈥渨as just really nervous about being asked to read in front of people.鈥�

Reach offered a nonjudgmental environment, and also the nudge of opportunity. Instead of the negative feelings that can accompany being in a remedial reading program, Tre鈥橲hawn was being given a chance to make a difference in the life of an elementary school student.

Now, Hecker says, Tre鈥橲hawn has warmed to the role of tutor and to Reach鈥檚 deeper meaning, saying 鈥渢hank you for the family,鈥� as he finished his second year with the program.

School administrators say they see reading skills on the rise, and more.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been really happy with Reach,鈥� says Maisha Riddlesprigger, the principal at Ketcham Elementary, the school where Jaleel tutors. Alongside the gains for her elementary students, 鈥渨e鈥檝e seen [the tutors] mature through the year.鈥�

One of the secrets to the program鈥檚 success, the principal says, is simply that the young kids are excited to have a mentor who鈥檚 like an older brother or sister: In their eyes, 鈥渉igh-schoolers are a lot cooler than teachers or other adults.鈥�

And the tutors 鈥渃an talk to the kids on a more personal level,鈥� Ms. Riddlesprigger adds. 鈥淭hey can say 鈥業 went to this elementary school,鈥� and 鈥榯his is what you鈥檙e going to have to know鈥� in high school.鈥� 鈥�

Not every student sees a surge of progress, but Hecker says it鈥檚 typical for the elementary students to grow their reading ability by about 1.5 grade levels per year, while the tutors themselves improve by about two grade levels per year.

For a high-schooler who works three years for Reach, that translates into moving from a fifth-grade reading level (as a ninth-grader) to being at his or her grade level by 11th grade.

鈥淲e just heard that one third-grader, who was reading at one to two words per minute, is now up to 40 words per minute,鈥� says Chibundu Nnake, a Reach staffer who works at the Ketcham location.

Another benchmark: Reach reports that 90 percent of its tutors and alumni are on track to graduate from high school on time 鈥� much better than the overall average for Washington, D.C., high schools.

鈥淎ll the kids involved in this program feel less alone in their struggle,鈥� says Leslie Shipman, assistant director of the National Book Foundation, which recently selected Reach as the winning applicant for a $10,000 鈥淚nnovations in Reading鈥� award.

鈥淭his program is somewhat unique, from my knowledge,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just the reading piece. When kids are working together ... there鈥檚 a whole gamut of lessons that are being learned.鈥�

Reach also recently won some big new financial support 鈥� a three-year, $300,000 gift from The Norman R. Rales and Ruth Rales Foundation. The foundation鈥檚 president, Josh Rales, called Reach鈥檚 impact per dollar invested 鈥渁s impressive as I have seen.鈥�

That gift will help Reach keep growing. The program has gone from one pairing of an elementary school and a high school in 2010 to five pairs today 鈥� with 90 students and 90 tutors. By the fall of 2017, Hecker expects to have 250 student/tutor pairs in the program.

He鈥檚 thinking about possible growth strategies. (Will Reach expand beyond Washington? Will it license its curriculum?) But Hecker says he鈥檚 determined to put quality control ahead of expansion. The results don鈥檛 come just by putting students of different ages in the same room, he says. The climate of love and support created by Reach staff members such as Mr. Nnake is also crucial.

The tutors work with students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays those tutors meet with Reach staff members, who guide and coach them on the curriculum.

Deja is one ninth-grader who鈥檚 been enjoying her job as a tutor. 鈥淚 like kids,鈥� she says, explaining how she helped one little girl learn the difference between long and short vowels. Although it鈥檚 harder for her to describe, she says the program is helping her, too: She鈥檚 learning 鈥渉ow to let stuff go鈥� and 鈥渉ow to control myself, to stay focused.鈥� Her academic work has improved. Those all are the beneficial side effects of the opportunity to put her love of children into practice.

The origins of Reach go back to Hecker鈥檚 own challenged childhood.

鈥淚 actually lost my father when I was a kid and didn鈥檛 handle that very well,鈥� he says. He鈥檚 come to the view that society expects too much of young people 鈥� asking them to behave like little adults without providing the kind of support that ultimately helped him through dark times. 鈥淭hey need a place where they can mess up and learn, and mess up and learn,鈥� Hecker says. 鈥淭oo many kids today don鈥檛 get that opportunity.鈥�

As he puts it in a TEDx talk posted online, 鈥淲e have to seek to know them, and to know a version of them that鈥檚 beautiful even in those ugliest moments.鈥�

That vantage point may be the quality that best identifies Hecker, say members of his staff. Nnake calls it caring and empathy. Jusna Perrin, who has been with the program from its early days, says it鈥檚 about patience. 鈥淲hat Mark has taught me is that there鈥檚 a specific long game in this,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e may not see the change we鈥檇 like to see in Year 1 or even Year 2.... But we never give up on them.鈥�

鈥� For more information, go to www.reachincorporated.org.

How to take action

Universal Giving helps people give to and volunteer for top-performing charitable organizations around the world. All the projects are vetted by Universal Giving; 100 percent of each donation goes directly to the listed cause. Below are links to groups that help children and youths:

鈥� Half the Sky Foundation enriches the lives of orphans in China through model programs and caregiver training. Take action: Provide a child with an individualized learning opportunity.

鈥�聽Develop Africa works to establish meaningful and sustainable development in Africa. Take action: Provide a scholarship, books, and school supplies for African girls.

鈥�聽Water Engineers for the Americas donates expertise in hydroengineering so that communities have sustainable clean water systems. Take action: Help rebuild a water system in a Chiapas, Mexico, community.