One of the things William Paterson emphasizes is its commitment to serve the surrounding communities of North Jersey. Service has been a tenet of the university since its inception as the Paterson City Normal School in 1855, founded as a school for teachers.
The College of Education has a long history of community outreach. Since 1944, the college has offered the services of the Dorothy Mae Vernon Lydecker Westdyke Reading Clinic to students who may struggle with reading deficiencies.
At the clinic, graduate students of the Masters in Literacy program help students identify and rectify any issues they may have, working in small groups of up to two students per tutor.
But now, Dr. Michelle Gonzalez, current director of the on-campus reading clinic, wants to expand those services beyond campus grounds. Recently, this semester, Dr. Gonzalez was able to start up her Mobile Reading Clinic through funding granted by the O’Shea Family Foundation.
“I knew there were students who would benefit from literacy tutoring at the clinic but faced various barriers in attending our on campus programs. I saw this model as an opportunity to serve more children in the community,” Gonzalez says.
The program itself is staffed by three undergraduate teacher candidates in addition to Gonzalez herself, who helps guide the tutors. But she hopes to be able to hire more tutors to increase the outreach.
Gonzalez says the program “was able to fund three tutors this year,” allowing them to work with a total of nine first-grade students. She adds that additional funding would expand services to more struggling readers.
When asked, one of the tutors, Alba Casimiro-Almonte, what her experience has been like, she says, “The students are enthusiastic and eager to learn,” calling the experience both enjoyable and meaningful to her as an aspiring educator.
Dr. Gonzalez encourages teacher candidates to get involved, saying “I would encourage teacher candidates to take advantage of this tutoring opportunity so early in their education programs. The mobile clinic will allow them to gain confidence and to work directly with students.”
