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thedrifter
11-18-07, 07:54 AM
Marines take time to tutor

By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

By helping Palisades Elementary School children grasp phonetics and the basics of reading, Marine Sgt. Chris Hubbard believes it might give him "a little edge" in a few years when his now-2-year-old son needs help with his homework.

Sgt. Marlene King, who just began as a volunteer tutor at Palisades, says she is willing to give up a few hours a week because she "loves kids."

The Marines, assigned to Marine Forces Pacific at Camp Smith, are among nearly a dozen volunteers who have participated in the Pacific Command's Joint Venture Education Program, the brainchild of U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye.

Last year, Congress approved $5.5 million for this unique Hawaii program, which is supported by all the military services here and helps pay for minor school repairs, buys textbooks and supports mentoring programs.

At Hickam Air Force Base, past programs have involved 17 base units, which have participated in its School Partnership Program with 14 island schools -- 10 elementary schools (Nimitz, Waimalu, Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Mokulele, Aliamanu, Aiea, Waimanalo, Makalapa and Pearl Harbor Kai), two intermediate schools (Aliamanu and Waimanalo) and two high schools (Radford and Kailua).

The Marines assigned to Camp Smith volunteer to work with children at Palisades and Pearl City elementary schools and Aiea Intermediate and High schools.

Marine Staff Sgt. Obi Rogers, an intelligence specialist, coordinates the program for her command and has been involved with working with children in the four schools for four years. Each of the four schools supported by Marine Forces Pacific is allocated $4,000 a year.

At Aiea High School and Palisades, the money was spent on new computers, Rogers said.

Pearl City Elementary School spent its share on materials it needed to build robots in a robotics competition next month, she added.

The funds also are spent on beautification projects.

But Rogers said the heart and soul of the program is the tutoring provided by Camp Smith Marines.

"The Marines love doing it," said Rogers, who has been a Marine for more than eight years. "My phone is always ringing."

Karen Machida, Palisades curriculum coordinator, who has been working with the Marine volunteers for four years, said the tutors and mentors "help build the confidence level of the students."

Besides the Marine volunteers, Palisades' program also involves college students and retired and part-time teachers.

"We're a fairly small school with 340 students," said Machida, who has been part of Palisades' faculty for 15 years. "So the volunteers do make a difference.

"It's worth the time and effort," she added, noting that Palisades' test scores have steadily been climbing.

King spent two weeks in training with Machida before she sat down with her first student on Wednesday.

"I only worked with family members before," said King, an aviation operations specialist. "I volunteered because I thought it would be fun and I like kids."

Volunteers, like King, spend two days a week at Palisades. Each tutor spends at least a half-hour with a student chosen by teachers.

Hubbard, who has been in the Marine Corps for more than five years, said the lesson plan is tailored to the individual needs of the students. Last week, he spent much of his 30 minutes with Adam Ilaban, helping the kindergartner with his penmanship.

Ellie