DATE: Saturday, April 5, 1997               TAG: 9704050225

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:  105 lines

TUTORS, STUDENTS LEARN FROM EACH OTHER

In a quiet corner of Room 209, a partnership is being forged between 28-year-old Vernon Hurdle Jr. and 9-year-old Tory Cooke.

Hurdle teaches Cooke to read; Cooke shows Hurdle how to teach. And somewhere in between, they find room for friendship.

The tutoring session between elementary youngster and graduate student at Norfolk State University - called Reading Partners - is just the kind of relationship President Bill Clinton is challenging all Americans to take part in.

The NSU reading clinic and other one-on-one programs like it across Hampton Roads are part of a national tutoring movement that Clinton hopes to boost with his ``America Reads Challenge.''

His goal is to mobilize 1 million tutors to work with 3 million children over five years to make sure students can read independently by the third grade. The framework for the tutors would be after-school programs, college work-study settings, and workshops to help parents teach reading to their children. Clinton is asking Congress to commit $2.7 billion to the project, a cost some legislators have criticized as too steep.

A task force of reading specialists throughout Hampton Roads began meeting last month to explore ways to become part of Clinton's reading challenge, if approved. Carmelita Williams, NSU professor of reading and director of the Reading Partners' clinic, is helping lead that effort.

Already in churches, recreation centers and after-school classrooms, tutors are not only guiding students to better reading but are also adding an extra mentor to children's lives.

In an NSU nursing education building one recent Monday evening, 11 graduate students sought out isolated corners of second-floor rooms to tutor their young charges.

``The squirrel's b . . . '' Tory stumbles over the word, and Hurdle jumps in.

``OK, let's go over that word. The first letter is `b,' and how is that pronounced?'' Hurdle says.

``Buh,'' Tory answers.

``And how about `u,' how's that pronounced?''

``Uhh.''

``This is `s-h,' '' Hurdle says.

``Shhh,'' Tory pronounces.

``OK, so what does `b-u-s-h' spell?''

``Bush,'' Tory says correctly.

``And add a `y'?''

``Bushy. The squirrel's bushy tail helps it keep its balance.''

Tory has been in the tutoring program since it began last year. His mother, Barbara Cooke, was worried that he might be held back a grade because he was a level behind in reading.

``So when we heard about this program, we got right in,'' said Cooke, who waits in a nearby room during her son's tutoring session. ``He used to go months without picking up a book to read. Now he'll pick up a book and read it. He enjoys it now. He looks forward to Monday nights.''

Tory now has caught up to the proper grade level in reading.

Hurdle said the tutoring is giving him hands-on experience of what teaching is like, and ideas of how to work with his own children when he becomes a father. ``It helps me know what's entailed in being a teacher,'' Hurdle said. ``It builds my confidence in teaching.''

Meanwhile, Williams is seeing the power of tutoring first-hand.

``They really make a difference in the lives of the children they are working with,'' Williams said. ``They get attached to one another.''

Reading experts say training is key where tutoring is concerned. Williams said her students receive six hours of training before they begin tutoring, and they also have a background and interest in education.

Throughout the semester, the tutors are continually learning techniques to help young people improve their reading skills. ``We focus on reading to the children, reading with them, and listening to them read,'' Williams said.

The NSU reading clinic began with a federal grant in January 1996. Williams made the tutoring a requirement for completing graduate coursework in education. ``At first, they were like `Oh, no,' but as the semester goes along, they get involved with the student, and then they want to know if they can keep working with them,'' Williams said.

The education professor recruited kindergartners through sixth-graders for the tutoring by sending fliers to nearby schools. The resulting partnerships were so successful that Williams hated to see them end with the federal grant money. So she continued the program two more semesters, and hopes to keep them going as long as the interest continues.

The clinics cost $100 for a 12-week session, but scholarships are available through the Brambleton Community Outreach Center. Williams hopes to find funding that will allow students to take a summer clinic at a reduced price. And she's also hoping there will be federal funds available for expansion of the scholarships through President Clinton's reading challenge.

Joe Bynes said he thinks his 7-year-old son, Jaren, has prospered from the program simply by having one person focus on his individual needs. ``When there's 25 or 30 kids in a room, his mind wanders. His attention is more directed with a tutor.''

In a room across the hall from where Joe Bynes waits, graduate student Sabrina Blount helps Jaren read a book about planets. When he stumbles over the word ``scientist,'' she helps him see and pronounce the root word ``science'' before adding ``ist'' to the word.

Jaren takes a break to recite the things he's learned during the tutoring sessions.

``I work on sounds, I write. I select a book to take home, and then I come back and tell her things about it. I like it. I like to read, and I've learned to sound out words better.'' MEMO: For more information about Reading Partners or a regional effort

to organize reading and tutoring programs, call 683-8504. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN

Norfolk State graduate student Sabrina Blount helps Jaren Bynes, 7,

with his reading as part of the school's Reading Partners clinic.

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