Reading Corps rally draws volunteers
– at least one from Grosse Pointe
Volunteers and teachers and tutors are so nice. So supportive. So upbeat and hopeful and determined and positive.
Last Saturday’s gathering of more than 2,500 candidates for the Detroit Public Schools’ newly minted Volunteer Reading Corps drew a half dozen standing ovations during the first hour. The rally was held in the gym of Detroit’s Renaissance High School.
On the podium were Robert Bobb, DPS emergency financial manager; Yvette Bing, first lady of the city of Detroit; Paul Anger, editor of the Detroit Free Press (the Freep initiated the call for volunteers just six weeks ago); and Charles Pugh, president of the Detroit City Council. Also on stage were Gail Russell-Jones, principal of Renaissance High School; Tia’ Von Moore-Patton, principal of Jerry L. White Center (which adjoins Renaissance High School); Tracy Martin, DPS deputy chief of academic affairs; and Keith Johnson, president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers.
Bobb was one who got a standing ovation.
The stars of the program – the ones for whom the volunteers leapt to their feet, raised their arms and clapped most enthusiastically – were the young people: the DPS "I’m In" Singers, who got the audience swaying and clapping before and after the rally; the Nevels String Ensemble made up of elementary-school musicians; Randi Martin and Myrakle Riggins, second graders who offered a duet: "I can do anything – Yes I can!"; and Skylar McClanahan, Nyla Copeland, and Zoey McClanahan, three winsome preschoolers who bravely bellied up to the mics and actually showed everyone how it’s done. They opened their books and . . . read aloud.
Standing ovation.
The most amazing part of the whole morning? Some 3,639 volunteers, so far, have signed on to help Detroit’s school children climb out of the basement where they recently scored in a national literacy test, and learn to read. Each volunteer has been asked to give an hour a week for a year, a half hour each to two students. The volunteers, Bobb hopes, will bond with their children and continue mentoring until they’re third graders.
The number of people who signed up projects out to 434,187 volunteer hours. The Free Press only asked for 100,000 hours.
I told you they were nice. Supportive. Upbeat. Hopeful. Determined. Positive.
The goal, Bobb said, is for every single child in the Detroit Public Schools to be reading at or above grade level by 2015. "And failure is not an option," he added. More applause.
Other surprises? The rally was beautifully organized. ROTC members, City Year volunteers and Renaissance High School students directed traffic, helped volunteers find where they needed to go, held the doors open and greeted everyone with smiles and "Good mornings." One young man, who was unsuccessful in directing me to the bathrooms, cheerfully waved his hand and said, "Just follow me."
Ten TV monitors placed around the gym let everybody see the faces of the children performing. The sound system was excellent. All in all, I’d give the rally and the morning’s activities four stars out of four.
The only glitch was not enough parking. But who knew? Shuttles brought people from parking lots around the neighborhood. A half hour into the opening program, someone leaned into the microphone and said traffic was still lined up outside the school for a mile.
Breakout sessions were handled efficiently. We all got an idea of what we’re supposed to do during our half-hour tutoring stints, even down to the number of minutes we should spend on each portion of the lesson. The first five lesson plans were outlined in detail.
Now, all we need are fingerprinting and background checks and we’re ready to go.
Look out. Never underestimate the power of a group of committed volunteers, teachers, tutors, parents and grandparents. In 2015, when every single child in the Detroit Public Schools is reading at or above grade level, we’ll deserve a standing ovation, too.
