SKILLS TUTORS FOSTER LITERACY IN PACOIMA : LITERACY PROGRAM BOOSTS GRADES, RAISES CHILDREN'S SELF-CONFIDENCE.

Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer

Charly Mederos looks like your average second-grader at Pacoima Elementary School, but he isn't. Eight-year-old Charly couldn't read a word of English four months ago.

Now, however, Charly proudly holds an award for taking second place in a citywide spelling bee, a feat that stunned his parents and teachers alike.

``It amazed me because he didn't know a thing and suddenly he knew the words,'' said his mother, Socorro Mederos, in Spanish. ``Now he can read a whole book in English.''

Mederos' turnaround can be traced to an outwardly simple but incredibly successful reading program created in December by the staff of the San Fernando Gardens Community Service Center, located in the heart of Pacoima's low-income housing projects.

Already drawing accolades, the Reach Me Teach Me program recently won a merit award from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials and was recognized by the city of Los Angeles' Community Development Department.

``Our goal is to reward innovative approaches to solving common problems,'' said Peter Dreier, director of the Napa Valley Housing Authority and a member of the association's Pacific Southwest region panel, which selected the award winners.

Reach Me Teach Me and the 65 other winners from the Pacific Southwest region will be included in a nationwide report so other agencies can replicate the programs.

``The program is getting more and more popular because the parents are seeing the impact it's having on the lives of the kids,'' said Mario Matute, the center's project director. ``The grades are getting better. The students who were initially put in this program now know how to read. The program is working.''

It was Matute who last fall noticed some of the children in the center's computer class staring blankly at the screen. He immediately sensed something was amiss.

``I found out that a lot of those kids didn't know how to read,'' Matute said. ``Why have the latest technology and a computer intern when we are lacking the most important thing - the ability to read?''

Disturbed, Matute pulled the report cards of the center's 110 kids and noticed a pattern. Many had reading deficiencies, according to their teachers.

Without the fundamental reading skills, the children are less likely to participate, eroding their self-esteem, said the center's case manager, Consuelo Telfair, who developed the program with Matute.

``If the children don't read at their level, they will not participate in school activities because they are embarrassed,'' Telfair said. ``The more they know how to read, the more they'll not only want to participate but be the leaders in their activities.''

The concept is simple - children receive one-on-one reading tutoring.

With that plan in mind, Matute set to work recruiting seven volunteers from Cal State Northridge and AmeriCorps USA, a college-age volunteer corps established by the Clinton administration and housed at nearby Maclay Middle School.

It was this personalized tutoring that attracted the attention of the city's Community Development Department, which every April honors agencies that have done outstanding work with the funds given to them by the city.

``The kind of work they are doing in giving one-on-one tutoring and taking an interest in the youthful citizen - it's a unique program,'' said Dolly Malva, the department's management analyst. ``They have been a model for others.''

Charly's tutor, Sheila Johnson, spends 30 minutes everyday after school taking turns reading aloud with him, sounding out the tougher words and making sure his pronunciation is correct.

``He couldn't read at all, but he was really eager,'' said 18-year-old Johnson, who grew up in Pacoima. ``He was dedicated and determined. A lot of the kids, they weren't as determined as he was, so they didn't practice at home like he did.''

It was at the Housing Authority's Community Service Centers' annual spelling bee two months ago that Charly beat out 12 others in the preliminary rounds and moved on to win $30 as the second-place winner in the final, Telfair said.

Winning the spelling bee inspired Charly to continue improving his reading skills, he said.

``I was happy because I got $30,'' Charly said. ``Now I want to win a trophy.''

Charly wasn't the only winner from the San Fernando Gardens. Eight-year-old Jose Fuentes, who is also in Reach Me Teach Me, finished second in the third- and fourth-grade division.

``He read well, but has had trouble with pronunciation,'' said Ana Silva, an AmeriCorps volunteer and student at Mission College.

Silva, who lives in Pacoima, said she felt a deep obligation to give back to her community. Pacoima has seen a sharp drop in crime recently but continues to be plagued by high dropout and unemployment rates, Matute said.

``I never knew illiteracy was so big until I got into this program,'' said Silva, 18. ``I'm just glad I could do something about it to help a couple kids.''

Matute's goal is to eventually reverse the reading program so that the children who successfully complete it can teach their parents, relatives and other San Fernando Gardens residents how to read.

Because of Reach Me Teach Me's popularity, Matute must first contend with recruiting at least 10 more volunteers for the list of a dozen children waiting to be reached.

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2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- 2 -- color) Reach Me Teach Me tutor Ana Silva helps Margarita Lopez, 12, with her reading. At top, Alicia Vasquez, center, listens as Francisco and Silvia Alvarez read their Spanish.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News