Lake Erie College receives statewide tutoring grant
Jun. 21—The Lake Erie College School of Education has received full funding for its Statewide Tutoring Grant Proposal in the amount of $499,857 from the Ohio Department of Education, officials recently announced.
The partnership grant brings the School of Education together with four local school districts — Painesville City Local Schools, Fairport Harbor Village Schools, Kirtland Local Schools and Summit Academy Community School in Painesville.
The School of Education will also partner with the Kent-Geauga Middle Childhood Licensure program for their teacher candidates to serve as tutors.
The tutoring program spans two academic years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, officials noted.
Parents in the partner districts will receive more information about enrolling their children in the tutoring program at the beginning of the upcoming school year.
According to LEC, the program provides high-dosage tutoring services every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for K-fifth-grade students. Teacher candidates from Lake Erie College and Kent-Geauga receive math recovery training to prepare for their sessions and curriculum.
Each partner district has a math curriculum liaison who works with the project director to ensure the content taught in the tutoring sessions aligns with district goals.
"At Summit Academy, we have a high transient and special needs population, often coming from families with low socioeconomic status," said Dean of Students Kelly Cunningham.
"We will use the mathematics tutoring grant to provide our students and families with free and sustainable opportunities for academic growth," she added. "Additionally, we look forward to the reciprocal partnership with Lake Erie College Department of Education students as tutors and mentors."
According to the ODE, the federally supported COVID-19 relief grants focus on providing direct services for students who experienced greater disruptions to learning and did not engage consistently in school during the pandemic.
Moreover, research shows frequent and consistent tutoring results in increased achievement.
Grants were awarded to two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities with teacher preparation and education programs.
Participating college students may benefit from direct field experience, community service and additional incentives such as stipends and course credits.
"We are so excited to be partnering with Lake Erie College for this exciting opportunity," said Heidi Elmore, principal of McKinley Elementary School in Fairport Harbor.
"We are a small community that prides itself on making these valuable connections that support teaching and learning," she added. "Through this partnership, we will be able to provide our students the support they need to continue to make progress towards reaching their goals. We are so lucky to be in such close proximity to this amazing college that looks for these opportunities and engages the local schools in their initiatives."
School of Education Dean Katharine Delavan noted the college is also grateful for the opportunity to train teacher candidates in Math Recovery, in addition to providing extensive real-world learning and teaching experiences.
"This will strengthen their knowledge and skills," she said. "We are also excited to have four district partners to strengthen relationships with and support their students with math development."
