To prepare for college and promising careers, students need to master advanced skills in mathematics. Yet, far too many students finish high school without mastering the challenging mathematics necessary for success in higher education and in our competitive knowledge-based economy. While U.S. fourth graders perform above the international average - as our students successfully acquire basic computation skills-math performance begins to decline in the middle school years, and U.S. students perform significantly below the international average by the end of secondary school.
To address this issue, William Smith student Lindsay Brown, '05, with the support of the CCESL, established an America Counts partnership with the Geneva Middle School during her senior year. Her dedication to helping these students increase their math proficiency and overall confidence was well received by the students, her peer tutors and the Geneva Middle School teachers. Brown utilized her experiences with America Counts for her thesis the year she received a Master's in Teaching from the education department, and the America Counts program remains a popular choice for HWS students with advanced math skills.
Tutors are paid minimum wage if federally work study eligible, otherwise, volunteers are welcome and appreciated! Transportation is provided and tutors choose 2 out of 4 days to work with the middle school students and are supervised by a peer coordinator (a student with previous America Counts experience).
For more information about the America Counts program, visit the US Department of Education Web site. To learn more about applying to the program, check out the links at left.
One of the Center's flagship programs involves Hobart and William Smith students tutoring elementary school children at six schools in three surrounding school districts in our campus chapter of a national program known as America Reads. Students go as a group on a regular schedule to the schools, where they work one on one with first through third-graders on reading skills. Tutors are also given the opportunity to reflect on their experience and relate it to broader literacy and public policy issues.
Tutors need no previous reading education experience; a complete training session is provided before they begin. This is followed up with supplemental training over the course of the semester and continuous support from a "veteran" tutor known as a student coordinator who leads each team. A lesson plan is developed for the student for each session and goals mutually set between the tutor and student for the next session.
Interested HWS students must be willing to commit to the program for a semester, although they are encouraged to make a yearlong commitment. To view the America Reads tutoring schedule, read the job description or download an application, view the links at left.
