Our Youth English Tutoring Program (YETP) begins its 5th summer on June 23!  The program will take place at 4 CMS school sites this summer: Merry Oaks International Academy, Pinewood Elementary, Montclaire Elementary, and Nations Ford Elementary.  It will finish on August 1. 

Each school aims to serve 75 rising first through third grade ELL's (English Language Learners). During the summer months many low-income students and students who do not speak English as a first language lose much of the progress they have made in their literacy levels during the previous school year.   YETP fills an urgent need in bridging the gap between the end of one school year and the start of another school year for these young English Language Learners.   

The program is free for students, with the additional benefit that they receive meals, bookbags and school supplies to further enhance their growth. Students learn in groups of 3 or 4, under the guidance of enthusiastic and compassionate tutors.  Tutors are undergraduate or graduate students of education at local universities, or are new teachers in the CMS school system.  Each tutor is supervised and trained by a Lead Teacher who teaches at the school site during the year and knows the children and their families.

Tutors and Lead Teachers also attend professional development workshops on Fridays, ensuring that they are learning and mastering ESL teaching skills.

YETP 2014 is directed by IH Education Director, Megan Mavity, and monitored by Project Manager, Monique Howell.  Monique is a graduate of UNC-Charlotte with a Bachelors in English, and the hopes to teach English in CMS in the future.  As YETP's Project Manager, Monique brings her own expertise in ESL and genuine passion for educational equity to ensure that the program is operating at its most effective level.

YETP is made possible by the generous support of our funders: Piedmont Natural Gas, The Belk Foundation, Wells Fargo, PNC Bank, Duke Energy, and the SPX Foundation.

International House welcomes three new staff members who have recently joined our wonderful team.  Megan Mavity is our new Director of Education. She is a graduate of Davidson College. She previously worked for International House as a tutor and project manager for the summer Youth English Tutoring Program, as well as an Education Intern. Megan is fluent in Spanish and has also assisted the Belk Foundation with researching K-3 literacy rates in Mecklenburg County.

New Director of Education Megan Mavity (L) is shown here with outgoing Interim Director of Education Laura Thrash (center) and International House Executive Director Denise Cumbee Long

Phil Volponi also joins the team as Director of Development. Phil is managing director of vNimble, a consulting practice helping organizations improve their bottom line results. He was formerly President and CEO of Junior Achievement of the Carolinas where he managed a $2.4 M budget and provided oversight culminating in significant organizational growth and increases in operating revenue and student impact during his 15 year tenure.

Phil Volponi, Director of Development

Finally, Bruce Holliday has taken on the role of Director of Marketing and Communication. Bruce honed his marketing skills during his tenure as owner and operator of a design company in Winston-Salem. He was formerly a volunteer and then interim Marketing Director at International House in 2012.

For more information about International House's terrific staff, please see click >> here

Please help World Learning recruit American participants, age 24-40, for a two-way exchange between Turkey and the U.S. Please see information below. If you would like to be considered, please contact us, as soon as possible by emailing jcauswell@ihclt.org.

August 15-26, 2014 in Turkey

November 15-28, 2014 in the U.S. (Americans will join the program a couple of days in Washington and will host the Turkish counterpart for 5-6 days)