Jessie Drummond and Letitia Dimeola are a tutor/learner pair that have been working together for the past year. Paired in October 1997, they initially met once weekly for several hours, but decided to meet twice a week for an hour or more.

This works well for Jessie, and Letitia believes the frequency has accelerated his learning. "We meet at the Bayview-Hunter’s Point Branch, off Lane and Revere. It gets loud, but there’s a meeting room. It’s a fun place for neighborhood kids to go and play on the Internet, and they can get kind of rowdy, but I think it works overall." They get along well together and are presently working on basic word lists, flash cards, fill-in the blank, and short writing exercises. When asked about his tutor, Jessie pauses and smiles: "She’s a great tutor."

Though they spend quality time in their sessions, there is room for fun and experiencing the joys of learning. For Jessie, "the best part has been learning to put the words together and being able to pronounce them and seeing where you go from there." Letitia added, "Jessie’s speaking to when he’s looking at a word, and just on his own he sounds it out, and is able to read it! He associates the meaning, and he’s actually reading! We’ve had a few 'a-ha' moments when that’s happened, and there was a lot of energy and just fun for both of us." Jessie commented that there are some letters he sometimes confuses: "The biggest problem is with ‘q’ and ‘p’, ‘d’, and ‘b’. I seem to get them a little mixed up...but I don’t feel bad - some of the greatest philosophers were that way!"

In his personal time, Jessie has a number of hobbies: he loves to fish, is very creative, and likes to build things. Jessie fishes near the Delta, around Antioch, Oakley and Brentwood in the summertime; he often catches catfish and perch, and loves to takes his three grandchidren with him. He also goes to the Fallarons with other city workers and enjoys saltwater fishing. Letitia has benefited from one of Jessie’s other hobbies - he’s a wonderful baker and cook. "He brought me a pineapple upside-down cake - and it was exquisite! And he’s working on a cookbook. Actually we haven’t focused on the cookbook too much in our sessions, but it’s a work in progress."

While Jessie loves the outdoors, Letitia likes to read and "kick back at home." She’s currently attending night classes at UC Berkeley Extension where her goal is to complete a certificate program to enhance her career in Human Resources. "That’s my focus - school is two nights a week, then math, tutoring, getting to the gym, and seeing friends. That kind of takes care of my week!"

In reflecting on time spent at Project Read, Jessie believes it has been a great help. He is also reaching some of his goals, and continually sets new ones: "I’m surely achieving them, I’m beginning to read different signs and doing things I’ve never really done or thought I could do - I thought that was really good. Sometimes, when you run across a word and you change the sound, it comes together like peanut butter and jelly!"

On her time working with Project Read, Letitia remarked, "Actually, I think I was pretty self-confident coming into it, and after the training it all seemed pretty reasonable. Once I got started, it was harder than I though it would be - much harder. I have learned some really strong skills that I’ve been able to apply to other aspects of my life. Just in terms of addressing what’s at hand, being really patient, not trying to force what you think should work, but working with the situation to find something that actually does work."

Jessie had some words of wisdom to pass along to other Project Read learners: "Hang in there; when the going gets tough, just get tougher and stick it out. To give up would mean total defeat. We have people out there that will take advantage of you if you’re not able to read and write. This is something that can be conquered, but it’s going to take a little time."