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IUPUI Student Finds Tutoring & Mentoring Gold With Her Eco-Map

Indianapolis, IN (PRWEB) April 17, 2008 -- America Learns announced today that a strategy created by IUPUI student Amber Jones has been named April's America Learns Strategy of the Month. Jones created her strategy to help her build her relationship with her student while understanding the various stressors and supports in his life that impact school performance. Throughout April, Jones' strategy will be available not only to the thousands of educators and mentors America Learns serves nationwide, but also to the thousands of teachers, tutors, mentors and parents worldwide who subscribe to America Learns' Strategy of the Month e-newsletter.

Jones, an undergraduate Social Work major, applied the professional skills she's been learning at IUPUI to her tutoring practice in order to build a closer relationship with her learner. The strategy she implemented involves creating an "eco-map" for both herself and her learner. Eco-maps are easy-to-create diagrams that illustrate a person's core interpersonal relationships. With an eco-map of one's learner in hand, a tutor can better understand what the learner's home life is like, who he tends to trust and rely on the most, how the learner feels about his teachers, and how the learner interacts with his friends. An effective tutor will then use that information to frame discussions and interactions with her learner.

Even more, when the tutor also creates an eco-map of her own life, it offers an opportunity for the learner and tutor to compare and discuss one another's lives, avoiding the possibility that the learner feels as if he or she is under the microscope.

Jones joined the America Reads and America Counts Programs this school year out of her love of working with children. "Getting paid to hang out with kids has always been something I look for in part-time employment," Jones said. "Tutoring graciously reminds me how tough it was to be a kid. Without even seeing the statistics, it has always been easy to tell that our interactions with students benefit them in one way or another."

Jones has been a shining star in the Programs. Morgan Hughes, Associate Coordinator, Office of Community Work Study, notes that, "Amber Jones is a bright spot in the IUPUI America Reads program. Her creativity and energy when working with her students encompasses the very character of an America Reads coach. She is a wonderful asset to our team, and I am so glad that she is able to be recognized in such an awesome way!"

"Amber took a professional tool and translated it into something that volunteers can easily use in the field," said Gary Kosman, Founder and CEO, America Learns. "Even more, the strategy can be used by both tutors and mentors, and with both children and adults. So many people will benefit from Amber's work. We're very excited to share this with the global tutoring and mentoring community."

Jones' strategy will be available through May 12th at http://americalearns.net/thestrategy.htm, and will be permanently available to all members of the America Learns Network community.

About IUPUI's America Reads and America Counts Programs

Housed in IUPUI's Center for Service & Learning, The America Reads and America Counts Programs serve young people in nearby urban communities by providing one-on-one reading or math coaching to help students improve their skills in these areas. Reads and Counts coaches are responsible for providing weekly in-person tutoring assistance to students across Indianapolis. Reads coaches work with students in grades K - 6, and Counts coaches work with students in grades K - 9. As an educational tutor and a role model to children, each coach strives to consistently demonstrate IUPUI's commitment to civic engagement. Learn more at http://csl.iupui.edu/cws/america/index.html.

About America Learns, LLC

Los Angeles-based America Learns is a global educational performance and accountability firm reaching more than 20,000 students worldwide. The company's flagship service, the America Learns Network, helps organizations to simultaneously collect their educators' best practices from the field, share those strategies with educators as soon as they need them, and measure educators' performance. Organizations using its services include universities (e.g., Dwight Hall at Yale, Duke University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan), community-based nonprofits, after-school programs, and school districts (e.g., the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and the Minneapolis Public Schools). The company also creates and publishes high quality, meaningful, stress-free learning resources for children that are steeped in relevant research and practice. Learn more at http://www.americalearns.net or by calling 310-689-0542.

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