AmeriCorps Bridging Borders: Making a Difference in San Jose

The AmeriCorps Bridging Borders Program is a collaborative effort between San José State University (SJSU), community organizations, and local public schools, engaging more than 40 SJSU students and community members in direct service to address the unmet needs of low-income, high-risk immigrant families in Santa Clara County (Center for Community Learning & Leadership, 2009).

Bridging Borders was founded in 2002 by Debra David, the current Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies at SJSU. The program is funded by CaliforniaVolunteers, the office responsible for managing state AmeriCorps programs (CaliforniaVolunteers, 2009). CaliforniaVolunteers awards three-year grants to its education programs, including Bridging Borders.

The mission of the AmeriCorps Bridging Borders Project is to support the educational needs of low-income, K-8 English-Language Learners (ELLs) who function at “far-below-basic” levels through literacy tutoring (including the areas of fluency, reading comprehension, phonemic awareness and phonics, decoding, writing, word recognition, and word conventions) that supplements regular classroom instruction. More than 800 students receive at least 40 hours of 1 on 1 or small-group tutoring each program year.

Project employees serve as AmeriCorps members in one of two capacities: as tutors, AmeriCorps members provide direct service in literacy tutoring at high-risk schools or after-school programs; as Site Leaders, AmeriCorps members also provide direct literacy tutoring, and are collectively responsible for recruiting, training, and managing more than 300 service-learning students from SJSU and 500 or more community volunteers to assist with academic tutoring or homework, health and parent education, and extracurricular activities at community-based placement sites for a total of 1,500 hours. Specific tasks and responsibilities may differ according to placement site. AmeriCorps members are not to perform service in the absence of a site supervisor, teacher, or other staff member.

Once AmeriCorps members are hired and placed at a site, they are required to attend a two-day orientation (2 hours and 8 hours, respectively) to review the program handbook of policies and procedures, performance measurements, and such topics as best practices for working with youth, communication, and time management.

Members are also required to attend bi-weekly seminars that address relevant or timely topics and issues, including mandatory reporting, civic engagement, and project planning.

Before AmeriCorps members may begin service at a site, they must be fingerprinted through the San José State University Police Department.

Literacy tutors commit to 450-hour service terms (360 service hours, 90 training and member-development hours). In order to evenly allot service hours throughout the 10-month term of service, tutors must serve between 10-12 hours a week. Site Leaders commit to 900-hour service terms (720 service hours, 180 training and member-development hours), and serve around 90 hours a week in order to evenly allocate service hours over the 10-month term of service. The schedule of direct service is determined in agreement between the member and the site supervisor, along with the appropriate teaching staff.

AmeriCorps members who provide direct literacy tutoring services at a placement site are required to complete assessments to gauge student learning and progress.

All AmeriCorps members receive free service training and Community Emergency Response Training (CERT), and gain education and non-profit skills and experience through working with experienced professionals and community members. Members also receive an AmeriCorps Segal Education Award upon the completion of a service term ($1,250 for 450 hours, $2,362.50 for 900 hours), plus a living allowance distributed monthly ($3,018 for 450 hours, $6,035 for 900 hours).

Of San José’s expansive population of more than 1 million residents, 36.9 percent (329,757 people) are foreign-born; 16.3 percent have entered the United States since 1990 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000). Of those who are foreign-born, 55.4 percent were born in Asia, and 34.7 percent were born in Latin America.

More than half of the city’s population speaks a language other than English at home, and 29.6 percent claim to speak English less than very well (U.S. Census). Twenty-three percent speak Spanish at home, and 21.6 percent speak Asian and Pacific Island languages.

In San José, of the 150,000 K-12 students who attend public school, 40 percent of all students tested do not score at proficient levels for their grade, and 2,300 middle and high school students drop out of school each year (McGurk, 2009). Also, an “achievement gap” exists between certain races; for instance, in 2009, 41 percent of Hispanic/Latino students tested as proficient or advanced on the mathematics section of the California High School Exit Examination, compared to 69 percent of Caucasian students.

One reason? I wanted a job. I had just finished one term of service and wanted to continue working with the community. This was a great opportunity to work in schools and learn more about San Jose.

I started in October of 2009 and was placed at a great site. My supervisor and the staff were very supportive of me, and my students (5th graders) were great! They were pretty well-mannered and hilarious! I felt that I lucked out, especially after hearing stories from my peers about their service site.

I'm not sure about my impact on the students - I don't have stories of miraculously quick success realized by the kids - but I feel that they definitely learned from me, and if anything, I think that they benefited from having me present there every day as someone whom they could count on to be there.

I felt that one of the benefits I enjoyed from serving with Bridging Borders were meeting my peers and learning about their experiences and their interests. I made great friends in the program.

While the program is still fairly new and continues to improve, I would recommend it. I'm glad that I served!