By: Matthew Hirsch
CUNY Tutor Corps (TC), a program that sends STEM students from CUNY colleges to NYC schools, is expanding. In partnership with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, TC will more than double their ranks, hiring 300 new tutors to work with over 7,500 public middle and high school students to improve their science and math grades over the summer.
The program seeks to fight learning loss because of the pandemic, and provide an opportunity for college students to earn money.
“This year, the CUNY Tutor Corps will help ensure that the opportunity for growth and learning advancement is not lost for the thousands of students whose academic career was hindered because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Co-Executive Directors of the Mayor’s Fund Daniele Baierlein and Jorge Luis Paniagua Valle in a press release.
Established in 2016, CUNY Tutor Corps, provided “sustainable employment, practical career development, and academic enrichment,” to about 250 students from 18 different CUNY colleges before the expansion, according to the announcement. New hires will be placed at one of over a hundred schools throughout the city.
With support from the Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), and the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), Tutor Corps will offer instruction in over 30 languages to help provide equal access to STEM education.
CUNY Tutor Corps also works with the Office of Research, Evaluation and Program Support, to analyze data gathered by focus groups made up of teachers, tutors, and tutees to help increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.
“The expansion of the CUNY Tutor Corps program will not only help our middle and high school students build important learning skills that will prepare them for the upcoming school year but provide an opportunity for hundreds of college students in our SYEP program to earn some extra cash,” explained DYCD Commissioner Bill Chong.
