Over the last 20 years, we’ve changed. How has this impacted the work we do and students we serve?
Tutor Corps and Pacific Preparatory are a lot of things to a lot of different students. As we approach our 20th anniversary and as Tutor Corps, Pacific Preparatory, and the Tutor Corps Foundation all grow in tandem, it’s a wonderful moment to ask ourselves and articulate for families and instructors: who are we and what drives us? What needs are we meeting?
When Jesse Roselin first founded Tutor Corps in 2002, it was because he identified a distinct need: families in the SF Bay Area needed caring educators to travel to their homes and work directly with students. Over the last 20 years, Tutor Corps has grown and adapted as we’re able to identify and address additional student needs. When the demand for homeschooling support became evident throughout the Bay Area, we began to offer this service more readily. When school districts began to come to us to support their student body, we developed partnerships and after-school programs. When we made more connections in Los Angeles, we began to hire more LA tutors to provide in-home tutoring there, as well. When the need for homeschooling became quite large, we launched our sister organization, Pacific Preparatory, an accredited 1:1 private school. When the call for our services began to spread across the country, we began offering online instruction. When the pandemic hit, that need for online instruction amplified exponentially. All throughout, we’ve also founded and expanded our nonprofit foundation, addressing income inequality by bringing 1:1 tutoring to low-income students.
All of that is to say: Tutor Corps has grown a lot, and we’re a lot of things to a lot of different students. As we approach our 20th anniversary and as Tutor Corps, Pacific Preparatory, and the Tutor Corps Foundation all grow in tandem, it’s a wonderful moment to ask ourselves and articulate for families and instructors: who are we and what drives us? What needs are we meeting?
In short, we care deeply about supporting students and educators. We believe in the power of 1:1 education and mentorship to unlock true student success. We believe in paying teachers well, and providing immaculate support to everyone we work with. We also believe in equity, and ensuring these services are available to the greatest number of students. We strategically leverage our three interrelated organizations to make this vision a reality.
So, what does that look like in practice, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has hit low-income students harder and widened educational inequity? To put it quite simply, it looks like getting the word out about our organizations and supporting the greatest number of students possible within our means.
With Pacific Preparatory, it looks like offering part-time courses in addition to full-time enrollment, so that families can afford to supplement their children’s education with 1:1 education without fully committing to a 1:1 full-time program. This has been especially meaningful for students who are thriving in traditional brick-and-mortars, but who are still lacking fundamentals in English or math. It’s also been impactful for high schoolers who come to us for credit recovery. During online learning, they might have fallen especially behind in a single course and that poor grade is weighing down an otherwise strong transcript. Having access to a 1:1 course allows them to regain confidence and master that material.
With Tutor Corps, it looks like expanding our partnerships with schools and school districts. Throughout the 2021-22 academic year alone, we supported 200 students, 100% of whom said that working with a tutor helped them meet their goals. Through our work with schools, we’ve been able to expand our reach and support students who might not traditionally have access to the benefits of this level of mentorship. Often, schools have a budget ear-marked for supporting students who are not being served by the traditional classroom. In partnering with these schools, we’re able to put these funds to use and make sure students are getting exactly what they need through our customized approach to instruction. We’ve worked with groups of students in fear of being transitioned to special education tracks, students identified for risk of not graduating, students with IEPs and 504s, students who are out of school due to health reasons, and students in treatment centers. These are such meaningful engagements because they demonstrate schools’ commitment to ensuring students get exactly what they need, even if what they need exists beyond a school’s immediate walls.
With the Tutor Corps Foundation, it looks like expanding our impact. In the last year, we’ve shifted our efforts and priorities so that we can provide a year of free tutoring to 20 low-income students in Title 1 schools across the country (triple the number of students supported previously). We’ve helped students who have struggled with houselessness, refugees, students with learning differences, and a wide range of learners who would just simply benefit from having access to a dedicated tutor and mentor.
And across all of these three pillars, we’ve invested in the success of our educators, leading to 95% instructor retention at a time when many educators are looking for new options. We’ve launched a new curriculum that helps instructors foster growth-mindset in their students. We’ve developed resources around supporting social-emotional learning and a trauma-informed approach to instruction. We’ve launched new platforms that allow instructors to more effortfully track and communicate progress. We’ve hired a Curriculum Specialist and two Faculty Managers devoted to ensuring instructors get exactly what they need to be successful.
It’s been an exciting 20 years of change across our organization, and we look forward to continuing to grow, develop, and do what we do best: help the greatest number of learners become their best academic selves. We’re so glad to have so many students and teachers along for this journey.