$739k Grant Awarded for Tutoring Elementary Students
American University’s School of Education's (SOE) Future Teacher Tutors program was awarded a grant for up to $739,000 over two years through the High Impact Tutoring Scaling Grant from the District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). This funding will allow Future Teacher Tutors to expand from two local schools to five schools to now include the Perry Street Preparatory Public Charter School, the Langley Elementary School, the Sousa Middle School, Hendley Elementary School, and the Francis L. Cardozo Education Campus.
"We are truly excited about this expansion," said Dr. Ocheze Joseph, Director of Undergraduate Teacher Education at SOE. "Research indicates that teachers who get hands-on experience early in their training perform better when they arrive in their first classroom. In addition to adding another elementary school in Ward 8, we now have a middle and high school for our secondary education majors to learn and grow."
The partnership reinforces elementary, middle, and high school student learning as well as AU students, according to SOE Dean Dr. Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy. "There are only a few teacher education programs doing tutoring in communities, particularly urban communities," she said. "As tutors, they will work with educators to build off lesson plans being taught in classrooms."
SOE created AU Future Teacher Tutors to bring high-impact tutoring to DC school students in northeast, southeast, and northwest DC since 2021. School of Education (SOE) students provide tutoring twice a week to students throughout the District of Columbia. Learn more here.