Senior tutors foster love of learning in children
Senior tutors in state foster love of learning in children

By Wendy K. Kleinman Comments 0
Published: May 9, 2008

Josephine Lima, 81, has been tutoring children since 1991.

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Foster Grandparents

May 8Foster grandparents are recognized for their work in tutoring...

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AT A GLANCE

•How to help: People interested in becoming a volunteer with the Foster Grandparent Program should call (800) 522-1064.

•On NewsOK.com: Watch a video about the tutors and students involved in the Foster Grandparent Program.

"They all call me Grandma,” she said.

That's fitting, given that she volunteers with the Foster Grandparent Program.

Senior citizen tutors put in about 65,000 hours every year in Oklahoma helping children in day cares and schools.

Some of the roughly 65 volunteers in the state were honored in a ceremony Tuesday.

"We're talking about a population of 60 and older. The most important thing is getting back involved in your community, feeling a need of being wanted and loved,” said Susie Daniels, Oklahoma's program director.

"And because our volunteers bloom, I feel like our children bloom.”

There are also tangible benefits for volunteers.

Tutors can receive a tax-free stipend of $2.65 per hour, a hot lunch, help with transportation and a free physical exam every year, Daniels said.

The program here is funded by the state Department of Human Services.

Students get a boost

A group of students from Martin Luther King Elementary School in Oklahoma City sang at the awards program; some have had foster grandparent tutors.

"I like having a foster grandparent because they're helpful, and they're there if you — when you need help,” said Anastasia Williamson, 8, a second-grader at the school.

Tutors also help students pronounce words, solve math problems and work through troubles with each other, said classmates Cory Bownds, 9, and Dominique Molette, 8.

"And you can have fun,” said Keyveontae Martin, 8.

There are about 25 foster grandparents in Oklahoma City Public Schools, liaison Cherrel Smith said.

Lima now works with children in a day care but she used to work in the public schools.She's been doing it so long that a student she tutored in the first grade told her he's about to go to college.

"He was pretty good,” Lima said. "These children could be the future. One of them could be president — you never know.”