by Martina Barbour, Literacy Director
As part of our ongoing mission to support literacy in our partner schools and community, Historic Fair Hill hires bilingual parents and community members to assist with literacy in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. As parents, we recognize that our Classroom Literacy Assistants are integral to the fabric of the school community and often know what and how their children learn best. Knowing the school, the faculty, and the students gives them a firsthand lens to support our children. Currently, we have six classroom assistants supporting three of our partner schools: Potter Thomas, Julia De Burgos, and Hartranft.
Classroom Literacy Assistants are paid and work five days a week to directly support literacy in the classroom by working in small groups with children who are struggling to read, working one-on-one with students, or supporting the teacher in group lessons. Research shows that more individualized attention for students helps them progress. Phonemes, letter sounds, alphabet recognition, print motivation, and fluency are just some of the literacy skills that our Assistants can help to grow and strengthen by giving students the more individualized support they need! This year, some of our Classroom Assistants are participating in training on phonemic skills and phonics, strengthening their own skill set and capacity to support student literacy. One teacher recently shared, “It is nearly impossible for me to get to all of my struggling students, so it is nice to know that my assistant can help when I am not able to.”
Many of our Assistants also lead Read Alouds that help to promote language acquisition, vocabulary growth, and the joy of reading! One told me, “My favorite part is reading to my classes. I pay attention to what the teachers are teaching, and I weave ABCs, rhyming, adjectives, etc., into a ‘lesson’ using the book we just read. I also get to read childhood favorites instead of just the required curriculum. When I read, the children are typically spellbound and chomping at the bit to answer any questions I pose.”
Another Assistant shared about the joy of going to the library with her students: “My best moments are when our students visit the school library weekly. They get the opportunity to pick their book of choice and when we return to our classroom, I love seeing them come to me with their book and tell me to read it with them.” Classroom Assistants have also helped build their classroom libraries with books from Historic Fair Hill, serving as our eyes and ears for what students enjoy and benefit from reading!
The teachers who have Assistants in their classrooms consistently express enormous gratitude and enthusiasm about the roles their Assistants play in supporting literacy and the classroom environment. “It has been a great help during instruction time as she helps certain students focus on the lesson/assignment while I teach the whole class. During SGIs, she assists at one station while I am working with small groups. When the students have a test/quiz, she helps with our English learning students for translations and small guidance”.
Our bilingual Classroom Assistants can also support their teacher with translation for families, a crucial part of communicating academic goals and challenges, while also helping families express their own needs and goals for their children! If teachers cannot speak Spanish, the Assistants can help them during report card conferences, back-to-school nights, and in daily communication. Our Assistants provide an invaluable thread between home and school for our students. “At the beginning of the year, our Spanish-speaking parents are always so nervous and worried to leave their child with someone who doesn’t speak their language. It is a comfort for parents and students to have someone in the classroom who can communicate with their children”.
Our Assistants strengthen their skill sets by participating in a variety of professional development trainings throughout the year. This year our focus has been on autism support and we have been collaborating with one of our partner schools for trainings and resources on that topic. In the past, staff have all been trained as Read by 4th Reading Captains, helping to promote Literacy in their communities by serving as liaisons to resources, books, and institutions. Our staff also meet regularly to go over best practices, share successes, and get introduced to new resources.
A quote from an Assistant speaks to the overall impact: “Being a classroom teacher assistant is incredibly rewarding because it allows you to make a real difference in children’s lives every single day. You get to support students as they learn, grow, and discover their strengths, while also helping create a safe, caring, and encouraging environment. Working closely with the teacher, you become an important part of the classroom team—guiding small groups, offering one-on-one support, and celebrating even the smallest successes. Watching students gain confidence, master new skills, and feel proud of themselves makes the role truly special. Knowing that your patience, kindness, and dedication help shape young minds is what makes being a teacher assistant such a meaningful and fulfilling experience.”
Learn more about our Classroom Assistants in an article published last summer in The Philadelphia Citizen – A Bridge to Literacy.
