​Channel 5 News Series: A Better Land
July 23, 2019

Broadway Christian Church's Summer Program helps bridge the educational gap in Cleveland

About Us
With a legacy of 47 years, the Broadway Christian Church Summer Reading Program seeks to close the education gap by providing FREE one-on-one tutoring during the summer for students who are academically at-risk in or near the Slavic Village area of Cleveland.


Mission
The Mission of the Broadway Christian Church Summer Reading Program is to provide individualized lessons, to at risk students in the community and to provide the teens of the community with opportunities to experience the work force, in a positive way as hired tutors.


Description
For four decades the Broadway Christian Church Summer Reading Program has been helping Cleveland area children improve their literacy, while providing valuable employment skills to the tutors, the program hires. The program runs for 5 weeks each summer for children in grades 1 through 6. The children served are referred to as "Intentional Scholars" because the time spent with them to increase their skills is nothing short of intentional. By contacting the schools prior to the program beginning, the team of educators on staff are able to create daily individualized lesson plans which address the specific needs of each scholar. Imagine 5 weeks of one-on-one tutoring to solely meet the needs of your child. Add to that the fact that it is free of charge and that they will also have access to a computer lab to strengthen their skills, and Art classes, and you can understand why the Summer Reading Program is indeed intentional!

Meet the Staff
 
The Director and founder of the Summer Reading Program, for the past 46 years, has been Esther Melendez. She is a graduate of Malone University, majoring in Elementary Education. She has taught in the Cleveland Municipal School System and has created and directed several After School Tutoring programs. She has also been employed by Urban Community School, in Cleveland, as a substitute teacher and as their After School Program Director for 11 years. Currently she still works as Teacher Assistant for Horizon Education Centers. 


The Assistant Director and Curriculum Specialist is Angeline Labrado.  Mrs. Labrado graduated with a major in Education from Cedarville University, along with a Special Education Endorsement.  She has been a Title I Teacher in the Breakthrough Schools and in the Garfield Heights School District. She was a classroom teacher at Bethlehem Christian Academy and currently teaches at Medina Christian Academy. Her training is invaluable to our program, as each year we have students with special needs and IEP’s that come to us for tutoring.  She helps us to properly assess and create lesson plans appropriate to the student’s individual needs.


Schedule & Enrollment for Summer 2025

This upcoming summer, the program will tentatively run from June16th to July 18th. There will be two sessions. The early session will be from 9:00 am to 11:30 pm. The later session will be from 10:30 am to 1:00 pm. If you are interested in enrolling a student in the program or being a tutor, please click on the tab at the top that says contacting us and fill out the form. We will get back to you with the information you need. Enrollment will begin in April of 2025. 

Enrollment must be completed before school is out. We require that you submit a brief student evaluation form to be filled out by the classroom teacher in order for the enrollment as a student to be complete. To be a tutor we also require a recommendation form be filled out by the school in order to be accepted along with a copy of their last report card to date.

Students enrolling must be entering​ grades 1st through 6th and be at-risk of failing or behind in Reading skills. 

Tutors must be in 10th grade or higher and be a good student.  A student with an A or B overall grade point average will be given priority.

Director & Founder, Esther Melendez

Assistant Director & Title 1 Teacher, Angeline Labrado