Meet Jose and Rociely, sibling 6th graders whose hard work at Beacon Place Tutoring Programs is turning into great success inside the classroom.

We first met Jose, Rociely and their mother Rocio, in 2013 at our first Beacon Place Summer Lunch Program. They quickly became regulars and their mom became a quiet, but committed member of our MOMS group. As summer turned into fall, Jose and Rociely began working in our Afterschool Homework Club. Although they are both eager learners, in early 2014, Rociely quietly shared concern about her 3rd quarter report card with one of our adult tutors. “My teacher wrote a note on my report card,” she said. “I may not move onto 6th grade if my grades in math do not improve. I try really hard but it seems so difficult. I don’t think I can do it.”

We could see that all Rociely needed was a little support and a lot of encouragement. Her brother Jose also wanted to improve his reading skills, so both kids set to work even harder. They came to the Afterschool Homework Club every day last year, and asked if they could continue working over the summer with some of their favorite tutors, Anne Durot and Wendy Beaver.

Along with 15 other students, Jose and Rociely worked more than four hours per week at Beacon Place and read A LOT of books on their own at home. Calvin and Hobbs, Percy Jackson, and classics like Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web were among their favorites!

All of that hard work paid off when the two students showed off their report cards to us this year: Rociely earned all A’s (including math!) and one B, and Jose earned A’s and B’s too – their best report cards yet!

The kids are proud of what they have been able to accomplish on their own and they continue to work hard in our Afterschool Homework Club. This summer, they will continue to work on math and reading and also work as “tutoring assistants,” helping younger kids with their reading. They are also hoping to start a book club at Beacon Place to read and talk about good books with other kids their age.

Jose and Rociely are great examples of how much can be accomplished with hard work and lots of support and encouragement from others.