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All Students Matter Moves to Online Tutoring and Adds Support for Middle School StudentsPosted 08/27/2020 by All Students Matter
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MENLO PARK, CA. (August 27, 2020) All Students Matter (ASM), a nonprofit devoted to working with the Ravenswood City School District to support educational equity and the success of students in East Palo Alto and eastern Menlo Park, announced it has adapted its tutoring programs to support online distance learning and expanded to serve three additional grade levels.
“As soon as the schools closed in mid-March, we worked with Ravenswood to find a way to continue supporting students and teachers,” explained ASM Executive Director Angie Holman. “We adapted from in-person tutoring to an online format for our spring and summer pilot program which served about 50 Ravenswood families. We were able to fill a critical need in the Ravenswood community while learning best practices to enable us to design new programs for working with teachers, students, and their families this fall.” Local elementary schools, including those in the Ravenswood City School District, will start the school year with instruction fully online. With its new online tutoring programs, ASM is able to support teachers and students during full or partial distance learning. “The teachers are the real heroes and we are delighted to support them and their students who can benefit from a tutor and additional personalized assistance,” Holman added. All Students Matter uses the same curriculum and online tools as the Ravenswood teachers and its volunteers are trained by the school district, allowing for a smooth integration into classrooms, whether that’s in-person or virtual. ASM is working closely with Lara Burenin, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for the Ravenswood schools, to ensure close alignment. Distance learning will bring some new challenges for students and ASM volunteers are a key partner for teachers in ensuring students are positioned to succeed. Each student has unique needs and the partnership with ASM means teachers will be able to match tutors with students to receive additional one-on-one academic support and mentoring. ASM’s programs will focus on building literacy and writing skills. ASM Program Director Keri Tully, who has helped to design the new programs, explains, “Some volunteers will be joining their teacher’s classroom lesson online and will work in breakout rooms with students. Other volunteers will tutor students during times for independent work. In either case, students and volunteers will use tools which enable them to screen share and work together in much the same way they did in the classroom.” New this year, ASM will add middle school students to its program, with the encouragement of Superintendent Gina Sudaria. Since 2008, ASM has focused on supporting the youngest students in Ravenswood as studies show that students who can read at grade level by grade 3 are more likely to graduate from high school. However, helping middle school students prepare for high school is also critical. As the Ravenswood Middle School completed its first year in June with a full cohort of 6th, 7th and 8th graders, the school district made it a priority to engage ASM volunteers to support these students as well. Superintendent Sudaria was eager for ASM to expand its program into Ravenswood Middle School. “Your commitment is critical during this time as we reconfigure and redesign our elementary schools,” Superintendent Sudaria explained to ASM. “The individual tutoring you provide to students makes a tremendous difference and will be instrumental to ensure the future success of every student." ASM collaborated with district staff to develop a program specifically for 6th-8th grade students. “Our volunteers will be working on-one-one with students recommended by their teachers and focusing on literacy and writing skills,” described Executive Director Angie Holman. “Volunteers will be trained in using the middle school’s online tools, building academic skills plus providing the social-emotional and mentoring support that is so critical for building a student’s self-confidence before they enter high school.” “I volunteered as an online tutor this summer and it was a rewarding experience. The one-on-one tutoring enabled me to meet my student’s unique needs and create a special bond with him,” says longtime ASM volunteer Stacie Zell. “With our programs going online, I think we will be able to reach more students than ever with new volunteers who join us.” ASM is actively adding new volunteers who wish to help students in the local community who are facing some of the biggest challenges with distance learning. “Our volunteers work with the same teacher and students throughout the school year. ASM builds a network of support focused on student success while creating a meaningful relationship,” says Executive Director Angie Holman. “Education is a cornerstone of our community and giving an hour or two a week of your time can make a tremendous difference in the lives of these students.” About All Students Matter: Inspired by the belief that every child deserves an equal opportunity to learn, All Students Matter (ASM) has been sending trained volunteers to classrooms in the Ravenswood district since 2008 to help improve students’ academic performance and self-confidence. ASM is unique because volunteers support the same teacher and students each week throughout the school year at no cost to the school district. ASM’s dedicated, trained volunteers are a consistent, caring presence in the lives of the children they support. In Ravenswood City School District, about 60% of the students are English learners, about 90% are low income, and over 40% are in unstable housing or considered homeless. ASM supports students facing these challenges. www.allstudentsmatter.org CONTACT: Jeanette Kennedy jkc_kennedy@yahoo.com |
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