SPEAKER (British): I’m so happy with the turnout today for our tutoring program orientation. Welcome to newcomers and old friends alike. My name is Cathy Ridgewood, and I’m the Executive Director of Youth Start Tutoring. We are a non-profit organisation that matches struggling students with caring, qualified adults who can provide them with a bit of assistance. In the last 7 years that I’ve served in this role, I’ve never seen such a massive orientation group, so thank you.
Now, just for your information, this orientation is schedule to last about an hour, but there will be a 10-minute break halfway through. There’ll also be a 15-minute question-and-answer session following my talk, so try and save your questions until then.
MAN (British): Excuse me. Um, it said on your website that we’ll also have a chance to register as tutors today. So, will that take place before or after the question-and-answer session?
SPEAKER: Good question. There is a registration table outside this room, and you can sign up either during the break or after the talk.
So, let me start by describing the population that our organisation serves. The youth we work with are between the ages of 9 and 16, and they all come from inner-city schools. These kids have been referred to us by their teachers, and their parents bring them in to register for our program. But parents can’t directly refer their kids…only educators can. Then when the student comes in, we talk with them both individually and together with their parents, and assess their needs. A team of our highly qualified educational consultants looks at their school grades and samples of their old homework assignments to determine why they are struggling. We use that information to come up with a tutoring plan to support the student scholastically.
MAN: Do you serve special needs students as well?
SPEAKER: Unfortunately, we are not able to take on students with developmental disabilities due to budget restraints. We instead refer them to two of our partner organisations who have dozens of tutors trained to work with those clients.
SPEAKER: Uh, so why don’t we talk about what being a volunteer entails?
MAN: That would be great. I’m really interested, but I’m just worried that I’ll have to make too much of a time commitment.
SPEAKER: That’s always a concern of potential volunteers, but don’t worry. You commit as much time as you can afford. Basically, we have three volunteer options. The first, which requires the least amount of time, is the “On-Call Tutor” option. On-call tutors are put on a list and called in case of an emergency, like when a tutor is sick or a student has an urgent deadline. They do an average of four tutoring hours per month, although that can vary. Oh, and on-call tutors are supposed to be prepared to tutor students of any age in any subject. So, if you are a jack-of-all-trades, this is a good fit for you.
The second option, which is the most popular, is called “Subject Specialist.” Let’s say that you are really good at math and want to be able to share your knowledge and love of the subject with young people. Then you can be a subject specialist and dedicate a minimum of 10 hours per month helping students with math…or whichever subject you prefer. But you can only choose one. You’ll be working with students of all ages as well, but only in your specialty area.
MAN: Do we have to prove our abilities in that subject?
SPEAKER: No. We work on a trust system. And if students or parents complain, we’ll come talk to you.
We have one more option that I want to bring to your attention. And that’s the “One-on-One Tutor” option. Some of us are good at, and get a lot out of, developing deeper relationships with one student. So this option gives you that chance. The tutor is assigned one student, and spends 8 hours per month helping them with their science, math and social studies homework. Um, but this does require at least a 6-month commitment.