Across generations, finding pen pals

When alumnus Miles Gilburne '72 felt that he had gained all he could from his career in the media and entertainment industry, he did more than request a job change.

Gilburne left the corporate world and began a nonprofit organization to promote child literacy in Washington, D.C. with his wife, Nina Zolt. They launched In2Books in 1997, a venture that pairs elementary school students with adult mentors with the intent of fostering a reading partnership.

"In2Books was the brainchild of Nina – we had a real desire to address critical problems in the public schools," Gilburne said in a phone interview. "We wanted to bring innovative solutions . . . and make it work in practice in the classroom environment."

The couple developed a comprehensive method that emphasizes a cooperative approach to student learning. In2Books assigns students reading material which teachers and parents integrate into classroom lessons and family discussions. Meanwhile, adult mentors act as pen pals and exchange letters with students intended to promote critical thinking on the book's subject matter.

According to In2Books's website, the program began in one third-grade classroom in Virginia. Today it links nearly 6,000 kids with about 3,000 adults, many of whom are employed by regional businesses. Gilburne estimates that about 50,000 letters will be exchanged this year.

Carol Rigolot, executive director of the Council of the Humanities and freshman writing seminar instructor, volunteers as a pen pal. Rigolot presented the opportunity to her writing seminar, WRI 106: Contemporary American Prose, last fall.

"I thought it would be interesting for [the freshmen] to hook up with younger kids learning to write because they were engaged in the same enterprise, just on a more sophisticated level," she said.

Much of the cycle is completed through online networking. Pen pals submit their letters electronically on the In2Books website, whereupon the letters are screened for content, printed and delivered to students. The students then handwrite responses in class that In2Books scans and emails to their respective pen pals.

"It's hard to schedule volunteer work but here's something you can do at 2 a.m. because it's computerized," Rigolot said.

Samson Mesghena '08, who was in Rigolot's class, recently submitted his first letter to his In2Books tutee.

"It's still early on so it's tough to tell [the results]," Mesghena said. "I'm just going to keep on going with it because it doesn't even take up that much time."

Some students found the electronic component of In2Books troublesome, though. Anand Oza '08 emailed the In2Books system several times but his request for a tutee was never processed.

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"It might just be me, but if the website [causes] widespread problems, it could discourage people from participating," Oza said.

However, Gilburne says the convenience of online exchange makes the program more readily accessible to potential mentors.

"What we're able to do is go to major employers and say 'Well here's a way to do multiple times the community service at less cost because you don't have to release employees downtown or to schools to do mentoring,'" Gilburne said.

The internet also allows teachers to track their students' progress and provides In2Books with a means of monitoring mentor-student correspondence.

"The nice thing about going online is that we can make safety and security paramount," Gilburne added.

Gilburne's role in jumpstarting In2Books consisted largely of taking what he understood about for-profit entrepreneurship and applying it to a nonprofit organization.

"I took the same principles like . . . incremental finance and investing in system — all the things that are second nature to entrepreneurs — and tried to replicate them to build a scalable nonprofit," Gilburne said.

Despite In2Books's complex technological infrastructure and entrepreneurial foundation, Gilburne stressed that one of the fundamental beliefs about the program is community.

"The value of community is very important and the power that comes from a community of learning is very strong," he said. "Our pen pals become better parents, aunts and uncles by working with underresourced kids."

In2Books has implemented a pilot program in Chicago, and Gilburne hopes to expand it to several other cities.

"It turns out that there is a huge demand for community service outlets inside of corporations given the focus on corporate responsibility now," he said.

However, he is cautious about being overly optimistic.

"You have to be prepared for failure," he said. "Each year we try to test outer limits; hopefully we'll grow and succeed but it can also go the other way."