​Hello again everyone, this is David Christensen, first year AmeriCorps VISTA serving with Washtenaw Literacy in Ypsilanti, Michigan. I am about 10 months into my service and what I’ve been working on has in some ways changed since last August, while in other ways has remained consistent. For instance, volunteer coordination remains one of my primary daily duties, but the specifics as to where I am coordinating have changed.

The location in which I began coordinating, Washtenaw Literacy’s computer lab, the Community Opportunity Center (COC), is now under the purview of my colleague and fellow VISTA Maddie Kahl, who joined the team in February of this year. Due to staff turnover, I left my position at the COC to coordinate a program in a local jail. These new responsibilities have been eye opening.

In some ways the format of tutoring here is similar to that of the COC – tutors work with learners one-on-one in a shared room, using the learner’s goals and interests as the foundation for their tutoring. The coordinator (me) is responsible for new learner intake and placement, as well as helping with mentoring and administrative tasks as they arise. In the jail, the day-to-day administrative tasks are more involved than those of the COC.

At first coordinating here was distinctly weird. I found it difficult to shake my awareness of where I was. This awareness begins upon entry and continues to the room in which tutoring takes place. Interacting with learners, and seeing them as that first and foremost, a “learner” before an “inmate,” was somewhat strange at first, but it is getting easier to hold these two aspects in mind at the same time. Similarly, navigating the administrative duties with regards to staff took some getting used to, but again is improving with time.

Another main component of my work in the past few months has been my VISTA Year Initiative. This is taking the form of a research project investigating another component of Washtenaw Literacy’s tutoring, their ESL Open Tutoring. For clarity, “ESL” stands for English as a Second Language, and “Open Tutoring” refers to Washtenaw Literacy’s drop-in group tutoring that it hosts at numerous locations throughout the community. The goal of the project is to examine ways in which we can improve how we support our group tutors and how we can retain them for longer. So far I have enjoyed this project’s connection to my academic studies, both in regards to the content (ESL) and the form (action research). Action research examines a practice as it is performed, in this case group tutoring, and is recursive and ongoing, the results of initial research inspiring the interventions which will then be examined and revised as time goes on. This project was on the back-burner for a while due to capacity issues, but I am now able to engage it further with the assistance of two of Washtenaw Literacy’s summer interns.

As I wrap up my service year, I hope to pull together some, if not all, of the various threads of my service into a cohesive whole. I hope to implement the financial literacy activities which I have been designing for the COC in the jail as a series of lessons to be delivered by tutors there. I hope to expand my understanding of how Washtenaw Literacy’s programming operates and learn more about how it fits into the larger network of service providers in the community. Finally, I hope to create a comprehensive and comprehensible legacy binder which details my work and the connections between the various facets of it to be passed on the VISTAs who are coming onboard in August.
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Cheers,
David

Hello, my name is David Christensen, first-year VISTA serving with Washtenaw Literacy in Ypsilanti, MI. Prior to serving, I interned with Washtenaw Literacy and attended Eastern Michigan University, studying Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Prior to my studies at Eastern, I studied English and History at Michigan State University. Going to school at Eastern, I have experience spending time in Ypsilanti, but I appreciate the new perspectives on the community that I am receiving as a VISTA.  I respect and admire the work that VISTA, Michigan Nonprofit Association, and Washtenaw Literacy do and I am happy that I am able to be a part of it. I am excited to continue working with Washtenaw Literacy on their mission to end illiteracy in Washtenaw County, as well as get to know other VISTAs and the folks at MNA. It is great to be part of such supportive and active communities!

Over the past month or so I have been getting reacquainted with my host site, as well as learning more about how it fits into the network of non-profits and service providers in Washtenaw County and Michigan as a whole. I find that getting a view of the big picture helps me to contextualize what I do from day-to-day. I have been acting as the co-coordinator for one of Washtenaw Literacy’s tutoring locations, as well as working on project and resource development.
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I have been helping to coordinate free tutoring at Washtenaw Literacy’s computer lab, the Community Opportunity Center (COC), with another VISTA, Ron Broadley. The computer lab is unique in the services that Washtenaw Literacy provides, for it serves both English as a Second Language (ESL) and Adult Basic Education (ABE) learners, whereas most other Washtenaw Literacy programs serve one or the other. The computer lab is drop-in, meaning that learners can come whenever they want during our hours and stay as long as they want. Tutors work in shifts to help provide services for whomever arrives. Washtenaw Literacy provides goal-based tutoring, meaning that there is no set curriculum, but rather tutors work with learners to identify their goals and then work with learners to meet them.

Along with coordinating at the computer lab, I have also been in the process of developing financial literacy workshops for use at the COC and elsewhere in the community. Based on the FDIC Money Smart curriculum, which I first learned about at the Post-PSO, I am adapting the lessons to better fit the community of learners in Washtenaw County. My process of development has included working with volunteer tutors, staff, and learners to get their feedback to ensure that the materials are relevant and authentic to my community’s needs.

In the future my plan is to train tutors to administer these workshops to learners both at the COC as well as different locations in the community. One of the goals for my service year is to help Washtenaw Literacy reconnect with health clinics in the county, so if they are interested, perhaps we will be able to provide these workshops at these locations. Wherever we end up administering them, I hope that I can continue to be useful to the community in which I serve!