0.12 Safer, l., wilhite, r., sims, p., mann, s., & Kroeger, t.  (Page 3/5)

In the fall and spring semesters, the program conducts after-school tutoring sessions at homeless shelters two or three days per week with sessions lasting between one and two hours. During 2009-2010 180 students attended tutoring sessions across all shelters on an average tutoring day. Highly qualified Head Tutors guide each session, identifying the needs of each student and the strengths of volunteer tutors in their efforts to help students achieve their full academic potential.

Every two weeks a session is devoted to an enrichment project sponsored by a local arts or science organization. At one shelter, students played theatre games with an instructor from Lookingglass Theater , one of Chicago’s premier performing arts organizations, while students at another shelter enjoyed a four-week lesson on photography, during which they each had their own disposable camera to explore different photography techniques, while at another a professional potter worked with the kids to make ceramic masks.

A secondary outcome of the program is to provide homeless students with positive role models who can help them develop basic social-emotional learning skills. Through the one-on-one tutoring component of HOPES, students and tutors naturally develop a rapport.

In June, and July Chicago HOPES meets three times a week, for two hour sessions with an emphasis on Academic Enrichment. The summer program goal is to offer stimulating activities to further enhance the students’ knowledge of the world around them. During summer 2011 the program agenda included Math/Literacy Day), Mad Science Day , through the HOPES partner, Mad Science, which facilitated interactive lessons and science experiments through hands-on routes to science education; Grow HOPE Gardening , which led students through a nutrition and gardening curriculum by planting and maintaining a garden at one of the Chicago shelters; Around the World , where each week HOPES brought in a volunteer, organization, or coordinator to introduce the students to a new culture through games, music, dance, art, language, and food. Students received personal maps/passports to indicate where they had “gone” over the course of the summer.

Leading for success

At each shelter site, the VISTA coordinator serves as a liaison among many moving parts. First, the VISTA connects the overall program with the permanent staff at the homeless shelter. The VISTA shelter relationship is essential in identifying students for the program, setting up a quiet classroom space, creating a welcoming tutorial environment for students, and communicating with parents, addressing their concerns and needs as they arise. Second, the VISTA coordinator serves as a bridge between the Head Tutor, Volunteer Tutor, Enrichment Tutor, and Substitute Volunteer Tutors at the assigned shelter site.

VISTA staff must walk a fine line in their role as the link between the families and the shelter agency. On one end, Chicago HOPES is coming into the home of these families, asking for their participation in the program. As such, they must respect that most of the shelter is off limits and that they are approved to be in the shelter only during a specified time period. On the other end of the spectrum, they have a responsibility to look out for the child’s well-being and must report any questionable or negligent behaviors at the shelters. However, the overwhelming majority of experiences with shelter staff and families have been positive during Chicago HOPES’ existence.