Become an Adult Literacy Tutor

Volunteer with LMS!

No one should be held back from a dream because of their reading or English skills. As a Volunteer Tutor with Literacy Mid-South, you will play a critical role in empowering adults to gain the basic literacy and language skills necessary to live their best life. 

Our tutoring model is built on the idea that everyone brings unique skills to the table. With your talents plus our training and support, you’ll be ready to empower adult learners to master the basic literacy and language skills they need to achieve their goals. 

Volunteer Tutors work with adults who read below a sixth-grade level or are English Language Learners. You’ll help an individual or small group of 2-4 learners develop basic literacy and language skills, build confidence, and reach personal goals. By empowering learners, Reading and English Language Tutors are vital in achieving Literacy Mid-South’s vision of 100% literacy in the communities we call home. 

Key Responsibilities 

  • Participate in our new volunteer training program

  • Commit to tutoring 2 hours per week for 6 months  

  • Complete a simple report after each session   

You and your learners will conduct tutoring sessions at community spaces (typically libraries) that are convenient for the learners. In-person tutoring is preferred, but virtual tutoring is possible when needed.  

Continuing Education trainings will be every other month and feature new strategies and tools you can use with your learners. 

Steps:

  1. Complete the interest form below to be invited to our next Launch Session.

  2. Once you’ve been to a Launch Session, you’ll complete online training modules over a period of 6 weeks, about two hours per week.

  3. While you’re completing the online modules, you’ll attend two in-person training sessions to practice what you’re learning. You must be able to attend both; we will give you dates ahead of time.

  4. In most cases, tutors are matched with a group or individual toward the end of the training period so you can prepare lessons knowing what your learners’ goals are.

Complete Our Volunteer Interest Form to Get Started.
 

Volunteering FAQ's

Questions? We have answers!

  • While teachers make great tutors, you don’t have to be an expert to make a difference in someone’s life, and many of our great tutors are not educators.

    Our volunteers have various backgrounds, but great tutors usually have a few common traits:

    Patient: you’re ready to meet your learners where they are and grow with them at whatever pace they need

    Flexible: you’re willing to change up a session to best suit your learners’ needs & interests

    Open-minded: you recognize that we all have different experiences

    If you are a comfortable reader and are excited to connect with learners, you are ready to be trained as a tutor.

  • You can work around your schedule!

    You’ll meet with your learners for 45-60 minute sessions twice a week at a time that is convenient for all of you. We ask that volunteers commit to at least six months of tutoring (about 50 hours of tutoring time), but many tutors continue well beyond that.

    While we encourage you to keep a regular meeting schedule we know sometimes that’s not possible. You can schedule breaks, and shift your schedule as needed.

  • We’ve all experienced it: that “lightbulb” moment when you’ve been struggling with something, and then it just clicks. It’s a rewarding experience as a learner, and it’s just as impactful as a tutor. These are the moments that sustain us at Literacy Mid-South, and they happen all the time with our adult learners and Volunteer Tutors. As current volunteer tutor Renee said, “It makes me incredibly happy to play a small part in helping people achieve life-long goals they have worked extremely hard for.”

    In addition to the invaluable experience of helping adult learners achieve their goals, Volunteer Tutors are part of a community of folks passionate about literacy. You’ll be invited to continuing education opportunities and informal meetups throughout the year and have access to an online community platform.

    1. Complete this interest form to be invited to our next info session

    2. Once you’ve been to an info session, we’ll invite you to a training workshop to learn more about our program and if it is a good fit for you!

  • Sign up for our newsletter to stay in touch. We’ll keep you posted on our upcoming info sessions so you can sign up when you’re ready.

    Or if you still have questions, email Stacy at searly@literacymidsouth.org or call (901) 327-6000 for more information.