"Building the 'Bridge' for the Future" by Whitney Taylor

As Allison Bridges pulled up to the elementary school, she nervously peered at the building with hesitation. It was her first day of first grade, only this time she was not carrying her Snow White lunchbox like she had 16 years earlier, but was arriving as a 22-year-old woman with a mission to give one Tuscaloosa boy the gift of confidence in reading.

Up to this point in her life, Bridges, a graduate student in advertising and public relations at The University of Alabama, thought she had accomplished a great deal. She was active in her sorority, director of graduate student affairs for the UA Student Government Association and a member of numerous honors societies with several internships under her belt. Little did Bridges know that she was about to embark on one of the most rewarding experiences of her college career – she was starting her first day as a reading tutor.

As part of Literacy Is The Edge (LITE), an UA student-run organization with a goal to increase awareness about the problem of literacy rates in West Alabama, Bridges began tutoring a local Tuscaloosa first grader as part of a service learning project for her graduate class.

Bridges said she had received tutoring training prior to the program, but she was still extremely nervous about meeting the student she would tutor for the first time.

“I had not been to an elementary school since I was younger,” Bridges said. “As silly as it sounds, I was nervous about meeting him and had no idea what to expect.”

Bridges’ nerves quickly fluttered away as she entered the first-grade classroom and was met by the biggest smile and a young boy saying, “Oh, Miss Allison, I am so excited to see you!”

From that moment on, Bridges said knew that this would be an unforgettable, life-changing experience.

During the first tutoring session, Bridges introduced her student to the favorite book of her childhood, The Rainbow Fish, by Marcus Pfister. Over the next few months, the two delved into numerous childhood classics, her student moving quickly through each page, excited to see what was next.

After a couple weeks of reading books from The Rainbow Fish series, Bridges said it became one of her student's favorite books, as well.

“He got to know the different characters, what we would refer to as the ‘mean fish’ and the ‘fish who needed a friend,’ and he would read at a quicker pace with each page so that he could find out what happened next,” Bridges said. “This young student was not only reading well, but reading with excitement. To me, that was progress!”

After months of exploring storybook favorites, Bridges and her student re-visited the original book from their first encounter, The Rainbow Fish. Bridges said she sat in awe, amazed as she watched the young boy breeze through the pages, reading with ease and pronouncing each word almost flawlessly.

Bridges departed from her student for the final time by leaving The Rainbow Fish with him. However, the gift Bridges gave this young boy was more than just a classic storybook favorite: Bridges left this first grader with a larger vocabulary, an excitement about books and a confidence in reading that he otherwise would not have gained.

This young boy is one of tens of thousands of students struggling with confidence in reading across the state of Alabama. According to the Literacy Council of West Alabama, 40 percent of children entering fourth grade are unable to read at grade level and 40 percent of fourth graders do not go on to graduate from high school.

Bridges said the key to combating this problem is by reaching out to people through literacy programs, just as she did.
As a new academic year begins, LITE will continue its journey by looking for more tutors to build confidence not only in children, but adults struggling with literacy problems in West Alabama.

“To be a part of LITE as a literacy tutor was one of the most rewarding activities of my college career,” Bridges said. “I knew that I was making a direct impact on a child, and that is something I never thought I would have the opportunity to do unless, of course, I became an elementary teacher. This student's happiness and excitement were contagious. The experience I had helping change the life of this little boy compares to none, and I only hope that others can experience the same thing.”