On their first day back this school year, kids make a beeline for the new couch and water cooler on the lower level of the LYN House on the near east side.
They fill up water bottles — only as much as they think they’ll drink — and then peel off to meet their tutors, including some who were new, too.
The changes this fall, along with some new art on the walls, are small touches adding to the years of attention poured into making the small community organization feel like home.
Stacks of books, games and indexed tutoring plans line the shelves of the bookcases upstairs — a library of lessons that directors Heidi Lyda and Jessica Hayes have built over time. Lyda, once an intern for LYN House, has been there from the beginning 15 years ago.
“We value the relationship,” Lyda said of her work with LYN House kids. “That’s why they enjoy coming. They really value that individual attention.”
LYN House, which stands for the Love Your Neighbor House, provides volunteer tutoring to nearby students. The program is intentionally small, serving just a handful first through seventh graders each night at the house on 12th and Tecumseh streets.
And, the help is in high demand. Lyda says the program is growing with more kids signed up this year than in the past and is in need of volunteers to help get kids off its waitlist.
1-on-1 tutoring
Students visiting LYN House typically meet one-on-one with a tutor for about an hour twice a week. The program also has a long-standing partnership with Washington Irving Neighborhood School 14, and tutors students in kindergarten and first grade there during the school day.
The program expects to have about 14 students this year visiting the house and will tutor another 15 students in-school at Washington Irving.
Hayes, a former teacher, has worked with LYN House for eight years and builds out the kids’ lesson plans. She said the small ratio helps keep up with kids’ needs — especially with students coming from different schools like Washington Irving, Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School 15, Little Flower Catholic School and others in the Washington Township and IPS districts.
Each student is paired with their own tutor to work on filling reading gaps. The center has created its own phonics curriculum based on the Orton–Gillingham approach, a methodology that breaks words down into smaller pieces and sounds. The LYN House team is also working on beefing up the team’s math curriculum.
Lyda said the reading support is especially needed this year.
“In the years that I’ve been here, we’re getting more and more kids that come to us that aren’t able to read well,” she said.
That mirrors a trend state officials have honed in on recently following stagnant scores on Indiana’s third grade reading exam.
LYN House conducts its own informal assessments to keep tabs on whether students are grasping concepts, but tries not to over-test them knowing that they’re already under that pressure at school.
“The one-on-one, too, allows us to individualize,” Lyda said. “If there’s concepts they’re not getting or they’re really struggling with something, we can think about ‘what other activity can we make up to make this happen, to help them understand what’s going on?’”
Interest growing
Nearly all kids visiting LYN House fall into the category of students who would receive free and reduced price meals at school determined by family income.
LYN House partners with the church across the street, First Free Methodist Church, to send kids home with boxes gathered from the church’s weekly food pantry.
The program has grown primarily through word of mouth, and Hayes says some kids have returned for several years. Lyda said she never thought she’d see the program grow to hire three additional employees, which includes Hayes, another staff member and a new public ally position.
LYN House, which began as a small, church-driven effort, draws most of its financial support from individual donors, local churches like First Free Methodist, and the Arthur Dean Family Foundation.
The funding allows support for their four employees. However, the rest is carried by volunteers.
The program has a waitlist of about five students. With LYN House’s commitment to its one-on-one approach, kids will only move off of the list after more volunteers step up to help.
Prospective volunteers need only to commit to as little as an hour a week.
“We’ve planned it all,” Hayes said of the tutoring activities. “They just show up. It’s sitting out on their table, ready to go for them with directions.”
More than reading
The center’s first meeting of the school year on Sept. 4 was more about get-to-know-yous than hard lesson plans. The students met with their tutors and filled in coloring sheets. It wasn’t long before the requests to move outside rolled in.
A truck was parked under the basketball hoop in the parking lot across the street, so the kids settled for porch soccer instead, dragging their tutors along with them.
That’s typical, Hayes said. The academic tutoring is just one piece of what LYN House provides. The organization also puts on a summer art camp and a winter basketball league. It’s not just about providing reading help. It’s also about relationships.
“We’ve been to birthday parties and family funerals and baptisms, first communions,” Hayes said. “We want to get to know the entire family and be part of their life.”
How to support LYN House
LYN House is having a fundraiser this weekend. Hayes and Lyda’s team is partnering with Kan-Kan Cinema to screen SENTENCED, a documentary produced by NBA star Steph Curry that explores illiteracy across America.
Tickets are $12 for the 7 p.m. screening on Sept. 8. The movie run time is 150 minutes, and a Q&A about finding solutions in the literacy crisis will follow.
LYN House is also having a “Coffee, Cookie, and Conversation” meet-and-greet from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Windsor Park location of Amelia’s Bread, 1637 Nowland Ave. Guests can learn more about LYN House’s work and volunteer opportunities.
And, next month, LYN House is throwing a 15th birthday party from 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Arthur Dean Family Foundation, 3903 N. College Ave. The event is free but space is limited, so guests are asked to RSVP online.
Can’t make it to the events but want to get involved? Volunteer opportunities are listed online at LYN House’s website.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
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