Building Independence Through Literacy Tutoring

Meet Alex and his Literacy  Tutor, Judy!  Alex is 17 years old and began tutoring at GiGi’s Playhouse, Phoenix in the Spring of 2023.

Before arriving to GiGi’s Playhouse, Alex was reading Level D books in the RAZ Kids Reading Program at his high school. He had been at this same level for the past two years and his teachers had told his mother, they felt his reading skills had reached a “plateau”.   The family lives almost an hour from the Playhouse and both parents work full-time.  But despite the inconvenience and long commute, they were committed to driving him every Saturday morning in hopes of finding success for Alex in the GiGi’s Playhouse Literacy Program.

In the fall of 2023, Alex was assigned to Judy Bitenc, a volunteer literacy tutor.   Judy took her time getting to know Alex and learning his interests, including his love of animals and their peculiar behaviors.  Through creativity and the structure of the program, Judy has been able to motivate Alex to want to learn while making each new challenge a fun experience.

Judy’s strategy is consistent and has proven to be very effective.  She introduces a new book each week…one that is within his scope of interest.  They read the book together during their lesson and then she assigns him homework; to reread the book every day (at least once) and then complete the given worksheets/activities in time for his next lesson.  Rodica says Alex looks forward to reading his book nightly but prefers to save the written homework for Friday night to be ready just in time to meet Miss Judy the following morning.  Since the Spring of 2023, Alex has progressed from reading at Level D to currently working on Level F books.  Their goal is to begin their Fall, 2024 session in Level G.  Alex has read over 40 books in the last year.

Rodica contributes Alex’s success to Judy’s ability to convert our structured program into fun activities that incorporate his interests while connecting with him on a personal level.  She says, “Judy makes learning fun.  Alex wants to come to tutoring each week and it doesn’t feel like work.  She treats Alex like an individual, not just any student. She challenges him. She believes in him”.  Alex walks out of the Playhouse each week loving to read and with a strong sense of accomplishment.  Judy has sparked a flame of desire within Alex to want to learn more and together they have built his reading confidence to a whole new level.

Congratulations, Alex and Judy!  Thank you for giving and achieving your “Best of All”.