OASIS volunteers say the children they tutor are little thieves. They steal your heart.

Ray Potter started tutoring 11 years ago.

"This year I did 12 children and last year I did 14, but that's a little unusual. It's like going downhill," he chuckled. He has tutored in all four schools of the Ladue School District where he lives, as well as one Clayton school. Each year, he has several new children between kindergarten and third grade, the age focus of OASIS volunteers.

But there was this one child he continued to tutor in Pattonville.

"Almost half the time I will get a child who has a problem at home. This little guy had a single mother who died while I was working with him. I had to follow him," said Potter, an engineer before retirement. "That's one of the secrets of retiring, do something you've never done before."

While Potter says he always asks for "as many as I can get," most of the OASIS tutors concentrate on one student. Carol Ottsen coordinates the inter-generational program in 27 districts and selected Catholic and Lutheran schools in St. Louis City and County, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties. Schools in Illinois formerly participated as well.

"They have done research on our tutoring program," she said. "Ninety-five percent of the students improve in reading achievement, 65 percent increase one grade level."

Personal attention

Candice Arriola, volunteer manager for OASIS, said the program particularly attracts former teachers, retirees who miss their out-of-town grandchildren and others looking for a one-on-one experience with a child for an hour a week during school hours.

"Some people have never graduated from high school. If you have a love of reading, love of children and you have the time to spend with them, a degree makes no difference at all," she said.

Arriola helps volunteers discover where they might fit into several OASIS programs.

"For some students in our tutoring program, it's an amazing thing for them to have someone show up every week, once a week," she said. "It shows there is a committed, caring adult. The emotional experience enhances all the activities and positive activities they can build on in the classroom."

With school districts pinching pennies, the 22-year-old program anticipates more requests for tutors after teachers see their resources and evaluate students in this school year. "No school district is not looking for new ones. The need is always greater in larger districts and those who have children who tend to struggle more," Arriola said.

National headquarters for OASIS, a national not-for-profit education organization dedicated to enriching the lives of mature adults, are in Clayton.

Growing experience

Judy Kamper, then director of special programs for the Kirkwood School District, helped pilot the program. Retired from school administration, she still coordinates OASIS tutors in that district.

"We now average about 80 tutors a year," she said. "I started with eight. I've always felt the program was based on good, sound concepts. When they have mutual respect and caring, kids are willing to work and tutors are ready to go the extra mile."

Each school district provides 12 hours of training for new volunteers, who number about 20 percent of the total tutors each year. A volunteer can choose a convenient location for training, which begins in mid-August. By Oct. 1, students and tutors are matched. All tutors meet monthly within their district for ongoing training and support. Tutors tend to hang around. Individual schools and districts regularly honor those in the program 5, 10, 15 years and longer.

Ottsen emphasized the tutor's role as mentor and friend to a child.

"These are not students with learning disabilities. They simply need an extra boost. Either they are falling behind in reading or a language area. If a child can't read well by the end of third grade, he or she is handicapped. Some simply lack confidence or have another issue of self-esteem," she said.

While the tutoring methods provided help both teacher and non-teacher, Kamper added, the program values the input of tutors, no matter their background, to improve the effort and stay current with educational patterns. "The secret is in the relationship of tutor and child," she said, "and the attention the children receive."

Creative ways to read

Tutors learn to pull crossword puzzles, journals, stories, events, experiences and hobbies from their bag of tricks. Tippy Dean, a volunteer in the Lindbergh School District since it joined the program in 1991, sprinkles science into reading activities. Bob Drummond tutors in a Pattonville School named after him. John Dodson works in two Kirkwood schools his grandchildren attend. Carmen Santon has brought a Hispanic perspective to her tutoring partners for the last four years in the Ft. Zumwalt School District.

Charles Gamble's 85th birthday coincides with the beginning of the school year and his 12th year as a tutor in the Normandy School District. He responded to a flyer in his mailbox.

"Fortunately, life gave me the right child to hook me," he remembered. "He didn't know where he lived, he didn't know his ABCs at six years, going on seven."As he put it, "some things just happened" along the way for the former food service worker. He took a leadership course at the University of Missouri-St. Louis when he was 79. He started connecting dots.

He signed up tutors and children for a free field trip to the St. Louis Art Museum. More programs and support from fellow OASIS tutors, friends and accidental sources followed. Eventually, "Mr. Gamble's Kids Fund" became part of the Friends of Normandy School District Foundation, designating funds for elementary-school outings and field trips.

Gamble said it came about because others had confidence in him. "If one person is trying, there is always somebody to help you out."

He links the course of events back to the tutors.

"What I like best about it is that somebody early on comes in with the feeling like these are their grandchildren, so someone is coming and caring, giving their time," he said. "We are not paid for this, so whatever you do, you are going to help some. It's hard to measure. Kids need any touch of love they can get."