The Missouri Reader Vol. 35, Issue 2 | Page 10

to  know  if  the  model  were  truly  capable  of  being  scaled  up  to  levels  where  each  at-­‐risk  student  in  the  country   could   receive   a   tutor   three   to   five   times   a   week.   This   is   because   I   felt   it   was   easy   for   me   to   implement   a   large   group  phonemic  awareness  and  phonics  program  (as  in  half  of  the  Hatcher,  Hulme,  and  Ellis  intervention)  that   could  reach  each  student  each  day  of  the  week.  On  the  other  hand,  only  once  a  week  was  it  mathematically   possible  for  me  to  listen  to  each  child  in  my  class  read  a  book  and  for  me  to  discuss  it  with  him  or  her.  And,  I   feel  there  is  no  better  way  to  develop  spoken  and  written  language  skills  than  to  listen  to  a  student  read  and   discuss   the   book   with   the   student.   Consequently,   my   overarching   research   question   was:   “Are   one-­‐on-­‐one   tutoring  programs  configured  so  that  they  can  be  expanded  to  reach  each  and  every  at-­‐risk  child?”       Methods   To  get  a  broad  overview  of  what  types  of  tutoring  programs  existed  in  a  major  metropolitan  area  in  a   Midwest   state,   the   researcher   visited   ten   different   America   Reads   sites,   observed   tutoring   sessions,   and   conducted   interviews   with   the   program   directors,   site   directors,   supervising   teachers,   and   tutors   of   ten   different  one-­‐on-­‐one  reading  tutoring  programs.  In  order  to  limit  the  bias  that  tends  to  infiltrate  qualitative   interviews   (Bogdan   and   Biklen,   1998;   Virginia   Olesen,   1999;   and   Norman   K.   Denzin,   1999),   interviews   were   begun   with   the   first   grand   tour   question   on   the   protocol   list   found   in   Appendix   1.   Then   questions   were   asked   in  an  open-­‐ended  emergent  pattern.  At  the  end  of  the  interview  the  list  was  reviewed  to  be  sure  all  topics  had   been  covered.       All   interviewees   were   promised   anonymity.   Most   first   interviews   were   conducted   in   person.   On   one   occasion,  scheduling  and  distance  was  such  that  a  phone  interview  was  conducted.  On  another,  the  director   was  so  new  and  her  community  college  program  was  so  small  that  she  answered  only  a  few  questions  during   an  initiating  phone  contact  before  referring  further  questions  to  another  university  director  who  was  serving   as  her  mentor.  One  in-­‐person  interview  lasted  fifteen  minutes,  while  the  rest  ranged  from  45  minutes  to  two   hours.   Follow-­‐up   phone   calls   were   made   to   confirm   facts.   During   all   interviews   and   observations,   extensive   notes   were   taken.   About   half   of   the   interviews   were   recorded   using   a   Dictaphone.   Unfortunately,   several   interviewees   requested   not   to   be   taped,   while   human   error   or   equipment   failure   interfered   with   taping   others.       Results   After   spending   six   months   interviewing   directors   of   one-­‐on-­‐one   tutoring   programs,   I   found   that   through  America  Reads,  President  Clinton  succeeded  in  capturing  many  of  the  benefits  of  the  Peace  Corps.  The   one   theme   that   seemed   impossible   to   ignore   was   that   everyone   involved   had   a   passion   for   one-­‐on-­‐one   tutoring.  The  tutors  didn’t  know  how  they  could  stop.  Each  director  wanted  to  refer  me  to  another  program,  a   tutor,  or  a  supervising  teacher.  One  tutor  commented,  “I  was  planning  on  becoming  an  architect  but  decided  I   needed   to   help   others   by   getting   my   degree   in   social   w