At One7 (a non-profit urban youth ministry ) one of the areas focused on is tutoring. In most Charlotte schools, churches and ministries, tutoring is approached as an element that must to be included for grant requirements, or a way to link volunteers to hands-on ministry, sometimes getting shoved into a program to check a box or overlooked as a necessity. One7 is different-we use tutoring to dig deeper into the lives of those we tutor and obtain valuable information while doing so, we truly care about kid's grades, wishing to better the chances of success for that student.
It was during tutoring that we discovered a bigger, deeper finding. There were huge links missing in our One7 kids. Tutoring led us to more tutoring. Then, we tutored one on one, calling in for professional back-up. We were concerned they may have been behind and wanted to able to better help them, so we had them tested. That's when it all hit! We were blown away by our findings...sixth and seventh graders who read and write at or below first grade levels. Three, four and five grade levels behind. Unable to add and subtract, much less do multiplication and division.
So, we were faced with a question. What do we do with the knowledge we now have? The answer, led us to the dream. The dream was perfectly clear-start a small school with students who were being passed through the system. Failing, yet passing. Focus on them individually, teach them the bible, make learning fun yet productive, teach them about life and living, and mostly-love. Help them catch up and continue through graduation. And from that point the snowball began!
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