Everyone loves a March Madness success story, so here goes. Meet A’Zaria, a basketball star and a Learning Edge student, and Cheryl, a Learning Edge tutor and one of A’Zaria’s biggest fans.
Cheryl began coaching and cheeringleading A’Zaria–in the tutoring sense of the words–in 2020, entirely remotely. Cheryl’s background is writing, so she was a great fit for A’Zaria who primarily needed support in reading. A’Zaria explained, “I was very shy when reading. Some words I didn’t know, and I would struggle, break down, and stop reading.”
A’Zaria isn’t afraid of a challenge: she plays on two different basketball teams, one is co-ed, and both are made up of kids at least two years her senior. Reading was different. Cheryl said initially A’Zaria was “really tough” because she didn’t even want to read. But the two got to know and trust one another and they worked as a team, taking turns reading.
A’Zaria applied what she knows about commitment and practice and she showed up for weekly tutoring to put in the work. Cheryl explained that A’Zaria has “come a long way. She has gotten really, really good. It’s impressive.”
On Tuesday nights, the pair can almost always be seen reading. A’Zaria is now getting through tough words–being patient, sounding them out. “Now, she actually wants to read,” explained Cheryl. “She wants to be reading herself.” What a slam dunk!
