Participation in Working in the School program enters 10th year
For the past nine years, staff from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have descended upon Chicago Public Schools to read, provide one-on-one tutoring and mentor second and third grade students for an hour every Wednesday. The tenth year is now underway, and about two dozen MWRD staff have once again volunteered to forego their lunch breaks to help out students in need at Peabody School, 1444 West Augusta.
The Working in the School (WITS) Power Lunch Program promotes literacy and receives strong support from the MWRD Board of Commissioners.
“We feel that this is a very worthwhile endeavor,” said Commissioner Cynthia M. Santos, Chairman of the Committee on Pension, Human Resources and Civil Service. “Our staff have a very positive experience, they build strong relationships with their students, and they enjoy watching the progression of improvement in the students’ reading abilities.”
The WITS bus picks up volunteers at the MWRD’s main office complex in downtown Chicago on Wednesdays, takes them to the school, and returns them to the office by 1 p.m. Two District employees are assigned to one student; the staff member rotates every other week.
“The MWRD volunteers are an invaluable resource to the students of Peabody Elementary,” said Morgan O'Neil, WITS organizer. “The one-on-one reading support they provide cannot be duplicated in the classroom where the ratio of students to teachers is sometimes 30 to one.”
More information about the WITS program can be found at www.witschicago.org.
Our water environment…Take it personally!
Participation in Working in the School program enters 10th year
For the past nine years, staff from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have descended upon Chicago Public Schools to read, provide one-on-one tutoring and mentor second and third grade students for an hour every Wednesday. The tenth year is now underway, and about two dozen MWRD staff have once again volunteered to forego their lunch breaks to help out students in need at Peabody School, 1444 West Augusta.
The Working in the School (WITS) Power Lunch Program promotes literacy and receives strong support from the MWRD Board of Commissioners.
“We feel that this is a very worthwhile endeavor,” said Commissioner Cynthia M. Santos, Chairman of the Committee on Pension, Human Resources and Civil Service. “Our staff have a very positive experience, they build strong relationships with their students, and they enjoy watching the progression of improvement in the students’ reading abilities.”
The WITS bus picks up volunteers at the MWRD’s main office complex in downtown Chicago on Wednesdays, takes them to the school, and returns them to the office by 1 p.m. Two District employees are assigned to one student; the staff member rotates every other week.
“The MWRD volunteers are an invaluable resource to the students of Peabody Elementary,” said Morgan O'Neil, WITS organizer. “The one-on-one reading support they provide cannot be duplicated in the classroom where the ratio of students to teachers is sometimes 30 to one.”
More information about the WITS program can be found at www.witschicago.org.
Our water environment…Take it personally!
