Tutor Katie Topp (center) reads with Melissa Castelan (left) and Yohanna Haile at the weekly tutoring night at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Chicago.
Youth tutoring program provides lesson plans for life
Text by Francine Knowles Photos by Jasmin Shah
O
n a recent Tursday eve- ning at Ebenezer Lutheran in Chicago, students sat at
tables smiling, laughing, talking and enjoying a meal of pasta prepared by Michael Fick, pastor of the congrega- tion. Roughly 30 minutes later, it was time to get down to work. In short order, the students sat on
sofas or gathered at tables in differ- ent parts of the church, their heads buried in books or eyes focused on homework as they engaged in dis- cussions with adult volunteers. Te youth are participants in
Ebenezer’s 15-year-old free tutoring program. It’s not your typical study hall and does far more than teach academics, said students, parents and volunteers. Te volunteers serve as mentors
who assist students with homework; help them improve their English speaking and writing skills; and prepare them for tests, including the SAT. Tey’ve helped them qualify
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www.thelutheran.org ‘The tutoring program
accepted the differences and was there to help us.’
for enrollment in higher-performing Chicago high schools, joined them on college visits and assisted them in navigating financial aid programs. Six years ago Eritrean immigrant
Betelihm Kihshen was a shy student and first-time participant in the pro- gram, which is open to first-graders through high school youth. She was struggling with learning English and worried about keeping up with schoolwork. Today she is a sophomore in
the pre-nursing program at ELCA- affiliated Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill.—the first in her family to go to college. Frehiwet Negassi has a similar
story. She graduated last year from St. Joseph’s College, Rennselaer, Ind. Both say they were helped a great
deal by the tutoring program and now they have paid it forward, vol-
unteering as tutors themselves. Norma Bravo has two children
who receive help in math and Eng- lish through Ebenezer’s program. “My daughter was getting Ds, they went to Bs,” she said. “My son went from Cs to Bs.” Offered weekly during the school
year, the program has 42 enrolled students who come from a variety of backgrounds and families, ranging from Eritrean to Hispanic to Asian. None are members of Ebenezer, and they all live in homes where Eng- lish isn’t the primary language. All qualify for free lunch programs. Te ministry typically has a
waiting list, said Norm Dynneson, a retired school counselor and teacher who is the program’s longtime facilitator and a tutor. He said the initiative is part of Ebenezer’s com- mitment to community outreach and social justice. It was suggested by the late Chuck Hadley, said his wife, Georgian, a longtime tutor. She credits Dynneson with enriching the program.
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