Amelie Russell (’27) didn’t expect a flyer to change her summer. But last April, one caught her eye, for a tutoring program pairing high schoolers with elementary kids who needed help learning to read. She signed up, showed up to Palmer Elementary and met a little girl who barely said a word.
By July, that same girl was correcting her own mistakes mid-sentence, chatting with classmates and wrapping Russell in a hug every time she walked through the door.
“Seeing the children gain confidence is really sweet,” Russell said. “It’s something you just have to experience.”
Russell is now leading a campaign to recruit more Robinson students into the HCPS RAISE Tutoring Program, a Hillsborough County initiative that connects high school volunteers with elementary students struggling in reading. RAISE stands for Reading Achievement Initiative for Scholastic Excellence and places tutors at nearby elementary schools where they work with small groups of kids on phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Volunteers are given real teaching tools: letter magnets, whiteboards, iPads and the same UFLI manual certified teachers use.
The work isn’t always easy. Russell quickly learned that no two students come in at the same level, even within the same grade.
“Everybody has a different start,” she said. “They might all be second graders, but they might have very different experiences with reading. You just have to adapt to each student and their needs.”
For Russell, that adaptability came naturally: she grew up as a strong reader and traces a lot of her own confidence back to that foundation. Watching her students struggle made her think about what might happen if they didn’t get the support they needed now.
“If they don’t have a strong foundation, it’s going to show up in other ways when they get older,” she said. “Strong reading literacy helps with communication, with confidence, honestly with everything.”
That belief is what turned a one-summer commitment into a full campaign. Russell has been hanging flyers around campus, spreading the word and urging students who have a free period, a summer opening or simply a genuine desire to help to consider signing up. The program runs during the school year and over the summer, with sessions this June 16 through July 17 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Volunteers pick their own days, and get various location options, making it easy to work around other commitments. A short Canvas training course is required before starting, but every hour, including the training, counts toward Bright Futures and CAS service hours. Volunteers who reach 75 hours earn the New Worlds Scholar Award from the Florida Department of Education.
But Russell is quick to point out that the perks aren’t really the point.
“Most importantly, you get to see kids make connections and learn to love reading,” she said. “That’s what stays with you.”
The application is open now. Scan one of the QR code flyers posted around campus to get started.
