Blue Mass Group

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GoldsteinGoneWild, tell me about using college students as tutors

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You’ve mentioned this subject before. Going through their budget I realized that my local school district spends way too much money on tutors, and I’d like to get them to switch to volunteers. What are the issues that need to by addressed which people might not think of when starting such a program?  

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  1. Sure thing

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    p>0. Take a look at this handbook.  

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    p>1. Our experience was actually that when used college students as volunteers, they were unreliable.  It was frustrating for our high school kids, and diluted impact.  

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    p>2. Then we changed things around.  We got RID OF the volunteers.

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    p>Colleges often include “work-study” as part of their financial aid package.  So from the point of view of a college student, you need to get a work-study job.  That is typically checking IDs at the college gym, or helping a prof, or shelving books at the library.

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    p>BUT they are ALSO allowed to work in the community.  (Like at your school).  And get paid.  

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    p>From the college student’s point of view, the pay is often something like $10 to $15 per hour.  

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    p>Not bad.

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    p>But from your school’s point of view, most of that tab is paid for (via the college) by the federal government.  Your “co-pay” might be like $3/hour.

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    p>So now you get reliable tutors (i.e., they show up late, boom, you fire them…they WANT the job) for your kids.  

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    p>3. Check out http://www.tutorsforall.orgfor a Boston former teacher who is deploying work-study tutors teams in both charter and district schools in Boston.  

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    p>His name is Mark and I bet he’d answer any questions you have (I’m assuming you’re outside Boston).  If you’re in Boston he might even have specific partnership ideas.  

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    p>4. For more thoughts on federal money, read this.  

  2. You get what you pay for sister. Not with my kids. Your kids can have the “volunteers” ty. I’ll let my kids have the tutors who being paid for the services and skill sets. Same for their dentist, doctor, and baby sitters (except for Nana – nobosy pays Nana)

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    p>Instead Patrick, why don’t you round up  these volunteers, have them come to your house every afternoon, and pass the word. The kids will show up. What do you need governmentr and school boards for to help some kid learn with a tutor?

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    p>There’s plenty of non-profit programs for kids and tutors.

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    p>Is this more about you Patrick? Just kidding

  3. Having volunteered myself for 3 years at a local high school math tutoring program, I can say it was not a great success.  We rarely managed to fill more than half the time slots, and even when people showed up the students often did not.  The lack of strict scheduling and accountability, from both students and tutors, severely dampened the potential for the program.

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    p>That said, there were some wonderful moments in those years where kids came in, established a connection with specific tutors, and honestly turned around their school performance.  One-on-one tutoring really works, even using people with no educational background, just a solid and working grasp of the topics.  I think for some students the individual approach is the only way they will ever grasp the basic concepts in algebra and pre-calculus.  There is also the subtle message that somebody else besides the omnipotent teacher understands and actually uses these skills in their life and career.

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    p>We should be looking for ways to support this kind of education more, and the Tutors for All approach looks very interesting.

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