General News
Dial-A-Teacher does it again!
Jun 5, 2008 3:50 PM
The Dial-A-Teacher end-of-the-year party was in full swing when suddenly Julio arrived, waving his state test scores that would gladden the heart of any parent or teacher.
He had come with his mother to say thank you to all the Dialettes — the teachers who provide homework help four nights a week in a dozen languages to thousands of city schoolchildren every year.
Julio, a 4th-grader at PS 149 in Brooklyn, was a regular caller — some weeks every night — as was his mother, who always insisted that the Dial-A-Teacher walk her through the process step by step so she could understand what and how Julio was learning.
“It’s amazing how they break it down for me,” she said.
For all the help she and Julio have received over the last two-and-a-half years, Annette Renaud was intent on saying thank you in person; determined to express her appreciation to the teachers who had helped Julio earn the best grades he has ever received.
Dismayed to discover that the Dialettes were finished for the year and would not be at their posts at UFT headquarters that evening, she tracked them down to their end-of-the-year celebration to say her thank-yous there.
“If it wasn’t for you guys, all of you...” she said, too choked up to go on.
Renaud told Dial-A-Teacher Director Amina Rachman that, before she discovered that the homework helpline is a UFT program, she had no use for the union and thought its only interest was in getting more money for teachers. But that’s all changed. She’s an education advocate now, a Dial-A-Teacher super fan and a participant in the UFT Parent Conference.
A grateful mother, Annette Renaud (right) tells Dial-A-Teacher Director Amina Rachman, “If you need someone to speak up for the union just ask me.”
Renaud thanked some of the teachers — (from left) Gordon Hatchett, Farrell Brody and Warren Livesley — who helped her son Julio (tallest of the children) get the best grades he’s ever had. The other children are Julio’s cousins.
