This month, we are highlighting the progress made by ELL learner Carlos and his tutor, Nancy Murphy. Carlos came to the United States three years ago at age 17, knowing almost no English, but determined to graduate from high school.

Entering his final year at Brunswick High, he was paired with Nancy to begin tutoring. “When I first received an email in September of last year from Diana Krauss about working with a student at Brunswick High School, I thought that I would be tutoring English,” said Nancy. “But when I met Carlos’ guidance counselor at the school, she said that he really needed help in Geometry, because he needed another math credit in order to graduate this year. Luckily, I have a degree in Natural Science and a strong background in teaching math, having worked as a Special Ed Tech supporting students in many math classes.”

The pair got to work in the fall meeting twice a week during Carlos’ study halls. At first, it was slow going. “When I came to Brunswick High School, I did not know anything about Geometry and was still confused about Algebra,” said Carlos. “She came to teach me every week in school. In class I did not know what was going on, but she taught me slowly so that I could understand. It gave me confidence in class.” Nancy not only needed to help Carlos learn the mathematical skills to solve the problems, but also a lot of new vocabulary. “Words such as: coordinate, plane, obtuse, acute, alternate, adjacent, octagon. Because of his reading level, these words and concepts were difficult in the beginning,” said Nancy. “But his reading did improve as I could see by his comprehension of what was being asked in doing the math problems.”

With steady support from Nancy, Carlos successfully passed the Geometry class he needed and graduated from Brunswick High School earlier this month. “Carlos worked extremely hard and was so appreciative of my help,” said Nancy. “I am so proud of him and that he was able to graduate this June.” Carlos is also grateful for their partnership. “I want to thank my tutor so much because she helped me a lot,” he said. “I loved graduation because it was my goal to graduate from high school. Next year, I am going to JobCorps to become a CNA.”