This month, we celebrate Read Together tutor, Ellen Kearns, and her student, Abby (now a fifth grader), who have been working together for two years, with a focus on math.

Neither can believe they have been meeting for so long, which is a testament to how enjoyable and successful their time together has become. Abby’s initial wariness toward Ellen and self-doubt about her ability to improve her math skills have been replaced by genuine appreciation for her tutor and confidence in herself. Ellen has noticed a big change. “I’m gratified to see that after two years of tutoring Abby, she is no longer afraid of math. We started with basic addition and have progressed all the way to fractions.” In Abby’s own words, “Tutoring is very helpful for everybody. Tutoring can help you read, do math and fractions, and if you can’t really understand English, tutoring can help you understand English.” Abby’s mother has seen a big change as well. “Abby's confidence in math has been improving since she started tutoring with Midcoast Literacy, and I’ve been hearing good feedback from her teacher at school, especially about her confidence with math problems. Overall, I’m very grateful for the help from Midcoast Literacy and Ellen in improving Abby's struggles with math.” Every week, it is a joy to see Abby and Ellen working together here at Midcoast Literacy, reading, figuring out math problems, and ending with a laugh over the latest card game that Ellen has brought. Congratulations to this dedicated and hard-working pair, and keep following us for more success stories from our tutors throughout the year!