The Colorado Springs Gazette final

When the student becomes the teacher

10 years later, a former student volunteers alongside her tutor in Children’s Learning Center program

BY ELISE SAPPINGTON

Once a student at the Children’s Literacy Center in Monument, Lewis-palmer High School senior Ashlynn Tarleton is now volunteering alongside her former tutor 10 years later.

Tarleton’s story with the CLC began in 2011, when she was 7 years old receiving extra help with reading. Her assigned tutor was Paula Primavera, who started volunteering at the center back in the early 2000s. After working together as a student and teacher a decade ago, the two have reunited at the Children’s Literacy Center as colleagues.

Tarleton admitted that Primavera looked familiar when she began her first tutoring session, but she was unsure why. She explained how her mother put two and two together.

“My mom reminded me and said, ‘Hey your tutor’s name was Paula,’” Tarleton said. “And I knew, from my first day of volunteering, that I worked with a ‘Paula.’ Then, my mom recognized [Paula] walking out of the building and encouraged me to go say hello and thank her. And that is what I ended up doing.”

Tarleton decided to volunteer at CLC after seeing their recent advertisement for tutors.

“I really wanted to do it because Paula helped me so much when I was younger,” Tarleton said. “She really helped me learn how to read, and I really love reading now. So, I wanted to do the same thing and kind of pay it back.”

Primavera stated that her former pupil “is doing a darn good job” as a tutor. Over 20 years later, Primavera is still volunteering for the program and appreciates the work it does.

“[The Children’s Literacy Center] has helped many students, as Ashlynn can attest,” Primavera said. “I am still in contact with two or three of the kids that I tutored, and they have all gone to college, and they all have done amazing things. I think that it is so important that we have this free opportunity for kids.”

The Children’s Literacy Center became a statewide nonprofit in 1993 and now has 12 sites across the Denver, Pikes Peak and Southern Colorado regions. Sandy Mcgraw, program director of the Pikes Peak Region, mentioned that in the state of Colorado alone, “roughly 27% of third graders are reading below grade level.”

“Reading is so fundamental that people take it kind of for granted, and they don’t see all the things that start to happen once you struggle with reading,” Mcgraw said. “You need to be able to read in order to learn.”

She explained that the cenwtheerel offers free one-on-one ing intervention tutoring, after school, for elementary-age children who are below their grade reading level.

“I really wanted to do it because Paula helped me so much when I was younger. She really helped me learn how to read, and I really love reading now. So, I wanted to do the same thing and kind of pay it back.” ~ Ashlynn Tarleton, Lewis-Palmer High School senior who volunteers as a tutor

“When you have a kiddo who has a tutor that is their biggest supporter, they develop that one-on-one relationship. That little kiddo can really trust that tutor and know they are not going to be judged or get bullied,” McGraw said. “They know that their tutor is just looking out of their best interest. That is what makes the difference in these kids.” With a 95% success rate, the Children’s Literacy Center creates a fun and comfortable environment for students to access their full potential through the power of reading. To learn more about the Children’s Literacy Center, including how to volunteer, visit childrensliteracycenter.org.

THE TRIBUNE

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2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-07-28T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/283991835317406

The Gazette, Colorado Springs