America Reads Programs at the Camden Campus

Currently there are three active America Reads Programs at the Rutgers-Camden Campus. All of the programs deal exclusively with toddler through 9th grade students. The pay rate begins at $8.00 an hour and all sites are located in the University District and are within walking distance of the campus. Students may work up to 20 hours per week during the academic year. The minimum amount of hours a student can work is determined by each site. Training for tutors is provided at each location and is designed to fit the needs of that particular program. Please note that in some locations background checks for all employees is required. Students must be eligible for Federal Work Study funding to be compensated for participating in the programs listed below.

America Reads – Leap Academy Charter School

This program is the oldest America Reads Program at the Camden Campus. Established in 1994, it provides tutoring services for elementary school students attending the charter school directly adjacent to the campus. The program is run with administrative support from the Rutgers-Camden Center for Strategic Urban Leadership. In this program, students work directly with certified teachers and many have the opportunity to get hands-on class room management experience and/or work independently with small groups of students. The academic focus is on literacy and/or class work that has a large reading component. The pay rate starts at $8.00 an hour. For more information, please contact Howard Kutchenrider, CSUL, 3rd Floor, 323 Cooper Street, Camden, New Jersey, 08102, (856) 225-6935.

America Reads – Center for Children and Childhood Studies

Established in 1998, in this program allows for student employees to work primarily with toddler and pre-school children in nearby daycare centers. Students are paid to assist daycare staff by reading stories to the children either individually or in small groups as needed. Training for tutors is provided at each site. The program is run with administrative support from the Rutgers-Camden Center for Children and Childhood Studies. The pay rate starts at $8.00 an hour. For more information, please contact Angela Connor-Morris, Program Coordinator, Rutgers University – Camden Center for Children and Childhood Studies, 409 Cooper Street, Camden, New Jersey, 08102 (856) 225-6739.

C.H.A.M.P./Gear Up Tutor/Mentor (Creating Higher Aspirations and Motivations Project)

Established in the fall of 2005, this is the newest of the America Reads Programs. This program employs student tutors to work with Camden middle school students by providing help with homework that has a heavy or complicated reading component. Tutors are assigned individual students to work with and are also asked to participate in other academic enrichment activities. This includes providing resource information to young people, accompanying children on related field trips, and participating the planning and implementation of other relevant enrichment activities. This is a statewide program, so the training is standard and formalized. The overall goal of C.H.A.M.P../Gear Up is to instill the value of college attendance in middle school youth. Given this purpose, these student employees are expected to behave as both tutors and mentors for the young people with whom they will work. Student tutors are expected to evaluate and document their experiences and the development of the children assigned to them. The pay rate is $10.00 an hour. For more information, please contact Winona Wigfall, C.H.A.M.P./Gear Up, Broadway and Cooper Streets, Camden, New Jersey, 08102 (856) 756-5420.