Aslan has developed a very successful and highly respected tutoring/mentor program in which volunteers work one-on-one with their students to provide important academic assistance. This program is designed to help increase a child’s academic performance while developing a nurturing bond with a caring adult.
Our program is not a “homework buddy” club but is, instead, solidly based on remediation. Homework buddy clubs help children do homework on whatever level they are achieving in school. Working on third grade homework with a sixth grade student will rarely if ever help that student achieve on actual grade level. Aslan pinpoints the needs of each child with pre-testing, and an individual plan is subsequently developed for every student to help them “catch up” to grade level. We accomplish this in a variety of ways, including:
- The ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) curriculum. A student must score 80% or higher on an ACE test before he/she can graduate to the next level.
- Top 100 through top 2,000 most recognized words in the English language
- Flash cards
- Teaching cursive writing
At the end of each school year, each student’s progress is tracked through post-testing. Aslan students make measurable and real progress. Some of our children improve more than two grade levels per year!
The mentoring of our students goes far beyond the two hours per week tutors spend with their students. Many adults take their students on field trips with their families where their horizons are stretched and they are introduced to many new educational opportunities. Aslan kids come to believe that with hard work and determination, they can one day succeed. Aslan tutors are given extensive training, resources and all the support they need in order to remediate their student’s academic deficiencies.
Summer tutoring is another important part of our approach to “Year-Round Learning.” It’s an established fact that disadvantaged children begin school each September behind where they ended the past June! Conversely, middle and upper-middle class students encounter so many summer learning opportunities that they begin school each September ahead of where they graduated the prior June. Through summer tutoring and special day camps, Aslan introduces myriad summer learning programs to our children (e.g., science classes, language classes, learning chess, field trips and sports activities).
You can apply to be a tutor at: Get Involved > Volunteer
Aslan Enrichment Activities – Throughout the year we include enrichment components that provide opportunities for Aslan’s children to experience new things they otherwise would not have an opportunity to experience. Staff and volunteers work together to develop projects that have a significant impact on Aslan’s youth.
Monmouth University Art-Eco Project – Each year, Kimberly Callas from Monmouth University and university students organize a challenging project, where students learn about the importance of caring for this planet God has given to us. Last year Aslan students learned to use a Computer Aided Design program (CAD) to map out their facial features, with each student adding images of seashells, seaweed or fish. Using a 3-D printer, their designs came to life, and the children then painted and added additional ocean art to their masks! They took a boat ride on the ocean comparing components of the masks to the ocean environment. At the conclusion of the program, Monmouth University hosted an art exhibit featuring the masks.
Tutoring Hours and Locations –
Volunteers work one-on-one with students to encourage academic excellence in math, reading and English.
MONDAYS
Red Bank Tutoring
6:00 – 7:30 pm – First Baptist Church of Red Bank
TUESDAYS
Long Branch Tutoring
5:30 – 7:00 pm – Long Branch Covenant Church
THURSDAYS
Asbury Park Tutoring
6:00 – 7:30 pm – Community Bible Church (Neptune)
