In recent years, Team Read has been carefully considering how we deepen the personal growth of our coaches. This includes providing new and improved professional development workshops for teens to work on important skills needed for tutoring and their future careers. This is also an opportunity for alumni and other volunteers to engage with our coaches and share their experiences.
Throughout the 2021-22 school year, Team Read is offering at least one workshop per month that focuses on a specific theme inspired by coach input and priorities. Coaches can register for workshops based on areas where they’d like to improve and grow.
Over 60 teens attended our first workshop in November that provided an opportunity for them to practice reading games and work on creative engagement with their students. Here is what some of them had to say about the workshop:
“I was interested in participating in today’s workshop because I felt like I needed some new ways to engage my student when it comes to reading. Sometimes their energy might be down and that has an impact on how they read.”
“My key takeaway from this workshop was how impactful these games are for some students and how much it can help.”
“I liked talking to new people because I like hearing about new ideas. This workshop explained the ‘whys’ of reading games.”
The December workshop, Leadership in the Workplace, gave coaches an opportunity to reflect on their values, discuss practical ways to be a leader at Team Read, and engage in an activity of their choice that either works on shyness prevention or group dynamics. This was one of our most popular topics, with over 70 coaches in attendance.
Workshops we have planned for the rest of the school year include:
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- January: Supporting A-D Readers, Career Day
- February: Coaching as a Professional Skill Set
- March: Alumni Panel
- April: College Prep
- May: Interview Practice
As you can see, we have really added some fuel to our workshop fire and things are blazing right now! Contact development@teamread.org if you are interested in helping support or observe a workshop with Team Read.