Listen Here
By Pulse Staff
Matchups for the High Dosage Tutoring program are set to go out today as part of the University of Findlay’s effort to help area K-12 students catch up in school.
Dr. Kerry Teeple, Assistant Professor of Teaching in Education, has been in charge of the program to hire UF students to go into Findlay City Schools and help younger students catch up in math and literacy after the pandemic slowed down learning.
“That is where we are, currently,” Teeple said in an email interview. “Minal Bista, one of our COE GAs (College of Education graduate assistant), has been helping me to make the matches. We will send the lists of tutors to the schools tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 29). The teachers and the tutors will meet beforehand to get a feel for what they will be doing and then they can start working with the kids!”
The Ohio Department of Education along with the Ohio Department of Higher Education gave out $14 million in Statewide Mathematics and Literacy Tutoring Grants to 33 Ohio colleges and universities.
The program is funded through ARP-ESSER, a one-time grant from the U.S. Department of Education. According to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education website, the $122 billion for the American Rescue Plan Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund was part of a $1.9 trillion package passed by Congress in March 2021.
UF received one of those grants after College of Education Dean Julie McIntosh wrote a grant to the ODE for funding. UF received $600,000 to be spread over two years to hire up to 100 tutors at $20 an hour.
Teeple says not all of the positions are filled yet and they want to continue to interview and hire more students.
“We have about 25 currently; 22 for math and three for literacy,” Teeple said. “We will be going in to the middle schools to tutor math and literacy for 6th graders. We will also be going to several elementary schools to do the same.
“Each school has their own protocol and needs so it has been like putting a puzzle together to decide who is going where!”
The tutors just went through orientation according to Teeple and will be going out into the schools next week.
Teeple says the FCS principals have shared how much they appreciate the chance to utilize the UF tutors with their students who need the help.
“Even though the tutors haven’t started due to the scheduling process, the teachers are so excited to take advantage of this opportunity,” Teeple said.
