Project Read tutors help adults expand their lives Project Read tutors help adults expand their lives (September 15, 2004)

** Too few volunteer tutors now to meet needs of the community.

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

Maria Duenas sees possibilities opening up to her in new ways since she "graduated" from a program she enrolled in at the urging of a local librarian.

Thanks to Project Read, she now knows how to read and write English; and since learning, she has signed up for a computer class, plans to study for her GED -- the equivalent of a high school diploma -- and is considering pursuing a health-care career when her kids are a bit older.

But one of the biggest rewards she has experienced since her successful studies in the Project Read literacy program operated through the Menlo Park Library is being able to read to her 6-year-old child -- in English.

Ms. Duenas is one of more than 2,000 adults who have improved their lives by learning to read English through Project Read-Menlo Park, a free program that pairs students and tutors for one-on-one lessons.

The number of adults being served by the program has been dropping in recent times, however, as the number of volunteer tutors has dramatically declined. Volunteers now number below 60, down from peak enrollment of about 120 several years ago, says Alice Bradshaw, who coordinates the program from her office at the Menlo Park Library.

Ms. Duenas, who was tutored from the Belle Haven branch of the library, near her home, knows that she was one of the lucky ones. "A lot of parents (of children at Belle Haven School) I know want to take the program," she says. But there aren't enough tutors at this time to meet the need.

A new series of training sessions for tutors begins next week, and Ms. Bradshaw is anxiously trying to sign up as many volunteers as possible to meet the community's needs.

"I used to get 25 to 30 people for training sessions, but now I'm extremely fortunate if I get 10," she says.

Now that Ms. Duenas has completed the literacy program, her former tutor, Sylvia Jeans of Palo Alto, works with another adult eager to learn to read. "I think reading is the most important thing," Ms. Jeans says, and she wants to give people who, for one reason or another, never learned to read English the chance to improve their lives.

In Ms. Duenas' case, a lack of reading and writing skills was a result having learned no English before immigrating to this country at the age of 14, and of having to drop out of Sequoia High School three months into her senior year to work so her family could pay bills, she says.

Ms. Jeans notes that her former student "was very highly motivated -- and that's a very important thing."

Trained in educational psychology, Ms. Jeans signed on as Project Read tutor after retiring about four years ago. And she plans to continue volunteering. "I don't count it as work," she says. "It is a pleasure. This is what I enjoy."

Tutor-training sessions. Training sessions for prospective Project Read volunteer tutors are on Wednesday, September 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.; and Saturday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. There is also a follow-up session on Monday, November 1, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. To sign up, call 330-2525.

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