![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2022\/05\/virtual-tutoring300x200-hassan-image4.jpg\")
51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s virtual tutoring program has served more than 700 students, according to Ben Trager, director of community-based learning for the center.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were thinking people wouldn\u2019t be as interested as we got back to \u2018normal,\u2019\u201d he said, \u201cbut then along came delta and omicron, and we just continued getting requests for help. Families were still interested in having the support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The center was looking for ways to make the tutoring sustainable over a longer term when it received help from a donor, Gayle Coleman.<\/p>\n
Coleman, who had worked for the University of Wisconsin Extension, was in the process of winding down a family business started by her late husband and wanted to invest some of the funds into a social justice initiative.<\/p>\n
Focus on education<\/h3>\n
She decided to focus on education because she felt, she said, that \u201ceducation is one of the ways we can really turn something around. Early childhood education, especially, can help kids get off on the right foot and feel good about learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen COVID hit, you could just see how the schools, particularly the lower-income schools, were struggling,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cI knew the kids were really going to suffer and I thought I would really like to put some money behind tutoring.\u201d<\/p>\n
She began looking for an evidence-based program and turned to 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s School of Education for advice. Hope Longwell-Grice, now senior associate dean at the school, connected her to 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s Virtual Tutoring program.<\/p>\n
Since then, Coleman has contributed $25,000 each year to help pay for background checks for tutors and support a part-time manager for the program, graduate student Samantha De Forest-Davis.<\/p>\n
The Virtual Tutoring Program has changed over the past two years. Initially, it was part of a collaborative effort with other Wisconsin universities that recruited volunteers for tutoring, Trager said. While the universities still remain in touch and consult with each other, the programs have evolved differently.<\/p>\n
Free to families<\/h3>\n
Now most of the 51ÁÔÆæ tutors come through university courses that incorporate service learning. The tutors come from a variety of majors and receive training. Schedules are flexible to accommodate everyone\u2019s needs. The program is free to families. Many of the students are in Milwaukee Public Schools or come from the Milwaukee area. This semester, 80 university tutors are working with students in grades K-4 through high school. Some tutors work with more than one student.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday the VTP seeks to provide academic and social support to elementary and secondary students, continued professional experience for college students, and an opportunity for the 51ÁÔÆæ community to support the education of young people,\u201d said De Forest-Davis.<\/p>\n
Dawn Tervoort, Megan\u2019s mother, was grateful for the support the program has provided her children. Megan, who works with her tutor one hour a week, attends the eAchieve Academy virtual school and is preparing for competitive exams to attend high school. \u201cWe are just so grateful for all the help we have received. We feel blessed,\u201d said Dawn Tervoort.<\/p>\n
\u201cHassan is awesome,\u201d Megan added. \u201cHe explained things so well and broke them down, so I was able to understand them. He helped me go at a pace I was comfortable with.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Very rewarding”<\/h3>\n
Cordash, a computer science major, started helping in the tutoring program when he was at 51ÁÔÆæ and has continued working with Megan after transferring to UW-Madison.<\/p>\n
\u201cWorking with Megan is very rewarding,\u201d said Cordash. \u201cShe\u2019s a good student.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some of the students who received tutoring early in the program retain ties with their tutors and the university. Trager recently got a call from a family whose child was interested in finding out more about some college classes. \u201cThey feel like they have a person at the university they can talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program leaders are grateful for Coleman\u2019s support and she, in turn, is pleased with the success of the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been really impressed with the work they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Megan Tervoort is one of the hundreds of elementary and high school students who have benefited from a 51ÁÔÆæ effort started amid the pandemic shutdown to help students struggling with online classes. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":106436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"section":[246,259],"display_categories":[115,116],"related-coverage":[323,207],"uwmnews-feed":[347,148],"class_list":["post-106435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","section-business-world-affairs","section-education","display_categories-top-story-secondary","display_categories-top-story-section","related-coverage-coronavirus","related-coverage-teaching","uwmnews-feed-community-engagement-professions","uwmnews-feed-education"],"yoast_head":"\n