From The Executive Director

By Elaine Albert

It's difficult to believe that KOREH L.A. has been actively engaged in the literacy movement for more than 9 years. More than 7,000 volunteers have worked with close to 16,000 children in more than 100 LAUSD elementary schools during this time. Many of these volunteers have met with the same child for many years, rejoicing in the progress their children have made. It's no longer surprising to us when volunteers speak of the deep connections they make with their students and often with their students' families.

However, what has become more and more surprising to us is the real power KOREH L.A. reading partnerships can have with high school students. Since our inception, KOREH L.A. has recruited mentors from some of the leading private high schools in the city. Students in schools like Harvard Westlake, Milken, Marlborough, Shalhevet and Brentwood are actively looking for community service opportunities and interesting things to write about in their college applications. Starting several years ago, KOREH broadened its teen outreach to include students in public high schools.

Two years ago, we began our first partnership with Manual Arts High School where many of the students were far behind in their own English reading skills. Last year we forged another partnership at Roosevelt High School. At both these schools we were surprised to learn that many of the students read only on a 4th or 5th grade level. Their teachers were hoping that involving them in cross-age mentoring with younger students would actually improve their reading scores. There are many studies that support this…and much more.

In a national study conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and Independent Sector, results indicated that when young people are engaged in service opportunities they are less likely to engage in risky behavior and are more likely to feel connected to their communities. In addition, the study found that students who volunteer do better in school than their counterparts who don't volunteer. ("Youth Helping America", Corporation for National and Community Service, March 2006)

In addition, there is much evidence from a variety of sources that cross-age mentoring can have many positive effects, including improvements in moral reasoning and empathy, a more favorable connection to school, better relationships to parents, increased self-esteem, better conflict resolution skills and enhanced organization skills.

All of these conclusions are evidence that KOREH L.A. is moving in the right direction. We hope to expand our Teen Literacy Corps in the future to include many of Los Angeles' inner city schools where graduation rates are dismal (only 50% of 9th graders complete the 12th grade) and where cross-age mentoring can make a profound difference.