“If I can help one student fall in love with reading, that more than makes my day”.
Sue Flischel, a retired financial investment firm president, has always been passionate about volunteering and making a difference in her community. After retiring from the investment firm, she was looking for a volunteer opportunity that would be the right fit for her.
Although she was always passionate about volunteering, she didn’t always have the opportunity to do so with all the responsibility and time commitment that came along with her day to day responsibilities in her career.
Before she got so busy with her career Sue volunteered as a literacy coach for adults, which she really enjoyed.
“I worked with adults who couldn’t read. They couldn’t do simple things like read the back of a macaroni box for instructions. It blew my mind how they got by day-to-day without being able to read” Sue said.
This was one of the many factors that helped Sue see the importance in literacy and the value of helping individuals who struggle with that. When the opportunity came along to work one-on-one with local students who are struggling with reading, she found the “perfect fit” for her.
She served as a One to One Coach for 10 years.
The One to One coaching program is part of the body of work of the Northern Kentucky Education Council which trains coaches and works with local schools to place them with students who needs some individual help.
Growing up with a mother who was a 3rd grade teacher, she felt a strong connection to education and was raised to see the importance of it.
Through her years of volunteering, Sue has always coached 3rd grade students in respect for her mother. Sue volunteered at John G. Carlisle Elementary in Covington. When choosing what school to be placed in 10 years ago, Sue didn’t really have a direct connection to any local school in particular.
Sue Flischel and one of her many students over 10 years.
She chose John G. Carlisle because they had one of the lowest reading scores and she saw the most opportunity to impact students at this particular location, which was important to her. Sue shared she has established a rapport with the 3rd grade teachers and the rest of the staff at the school.
Sue and her husband, Lee Flischel who also is a One to One coach at John G. Carlisle, support the 3rd grade staff at John G. Carlisle by providing them with books or other resources they may need.
“The teachers and staff really appreciate the program. They love it; One to One really helps the students grow in the classroom,” Sue said.
Sue shared a story about when she felt she greatly impacted by a student during her first year of coaching. During the first 3 months, the student’s homeroom teacher passed away. Sue said this was a very unique situation because a majority of the students had not dealt with any kind of loss, being so young. During the rest of her time with this student, Sue came up with an activity where the student would write letters to her teacher who had passed away. In the letters she would tell her teacher about the different books she was reading and talk about all she was learning over the course of the year.
Sue spoke about motivating students to read and different ways to get them excited about it.
“It’s important to find their interests and what motivates them,” Sue said.
Sue brings different things with her to the one to one sessions depending on the student’s interests. For a majority of her female students Sue brings pink and purple markers and glittery princess stickers.
“If a student expresses to me they like dinosaurs I’m going to go and find all the dinosaur books and stickers I can so they will be excited about reading those books.”
Sue also encourages the students to express their creativity. For example, she said if students are more artistic she incorporates opportunities into their practice sessions.
One of Sue’s favorite parts of the whole experience is the end of the year celebration they have. At the celebration the students are given books as gifts. She said it’s so rewarding to see how excited they are to get new books, considering at the beginning of the year a majority of the students aren’t necessarily passionate about reading.
Sue enjoys volunteering with this specific program due to the help she receives from the Council and the people involved. She is provided with the resources she needs, which makes it a lot easier for her to enjoy the experience.
“It doesn’t feel like work; it’s fun,” Sue said. “If more people understood the purpose of the One to One programs community wide, I know more people would get on board.”
Registration is open for the One to One: Practicing Reading and Math with Students program. For more information or to sign up for one of our trainings, please visit the website or contact Leslie Armstrong at (859) 282-9214.
This story is one of a series on One to One in cooperation with the Northern Kentucky Education Council.
