Since 2014
The Wizard’s Wardrobe - where reading is magic!
Students greet their tutor and get their wizard's cape from their individual cubby. They pass through the wardrobe to the welcoming tutoring space. The tutor & student settle into a quiet area, and after a healthy snack, read to each other, write, practice reading strategies, or work through a STEM project.
Students come twice a week for 90-minute sessions. They are assigned dedicated tutors. They read leveled grade books and the tutors read to the students to increase their listening capabilities and build their vocabularies. Monthly reports are shared with their schools.
Over 2,100 high-interest, culturally diverse fiction and non-fiction books, along with interactive games, puzzles, and instructional materials are integrated into lessons planned with each student’s learning style, developmental readiness, and interests in mind.
Monthly STEM projects develop problem-solving skills, along with non-cognitive skills such as perseverance, determination, risk-taking and creative thinking.
Students’ spelling, reading skills, and comprehension are assessed by the Program Director at the beginning of the school year (or upon entering) and again at the end of the school year to determine and document the amount of growth.
Students are provided writing strategies and encouraged to express themselves via writing. An annual anthology of student writing is “published” and included on the shelves of the local library.
In addition to tutoring, the Wizards Wardrobe has offered enrichment activities including:
· “Imagination Celebrations” where family members were invited to celebrate their child’s successes and accomplishments.
· A summer theater project giving students the opportunity to apply and develop their reading and writing skills as they create and perform in a production that they create.
· Summer field trips to Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar, the VIA Aquarium in Rotterdam, and Camp “Wa Wa Segowea” in Southfield, MA.
