Meet Your Neighbor: Mary Ann Widmer seeking math-smart tutors

PORT CLINTON - The Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center’s tutoring program is looking for volunteer tutors who want to make a difference in a child’s life. Grand Success, which offers tutoring to children in elementary through high school who are being raised by their grandparents, needs volunteers for all age groups but has a special need for volunteers who can teach upper-level math.

“With children in sixth grade and above, tutoring is more of a challenge, but we want to keep helping children after they leave elementary school,” said Mary Ann Widmer, Grand Success coordinator and retired educator. “We are in dire need of tutors willing to help middle school and high school students. They need a background in math content.”

Volunteers for elementary students need no prior experience but will be required to attend an in-service training session. All volunteers are required to undergo a background check, and Widmer asks that volunteers commit to one hour, once a week, after school, during the school year.

“We have some volunteers that leave for Florida during the school year. I’ll take them, even if they can only volunteer for a few months,” she said.

Grand Success aids youths in Port Clinton, Oak Harbor and Danbury schools

Students must have written permission from their parent or guardian to attend tutoring sessions. The Grand Success program is currently available in Port Clinton, Oak Harbor and Danbury Schools. Widmer would like to extend the program to Genoa, if she can find volunteers.

Tutoring takes place at Bataan Elementary School in Port Clinton, at Danbury Elementary in Danbury, and at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Harbor.

“In Oak Harbor, we pick up the elementary students and bring them to the church,” Widmer said.

The Grand Success volunteer tutors are well-supported by Widmer, who connects with the students’ teachers every two weeks to learn what the child is working on in the classroom. From there, she creates a custom tutoring packet for each volunteer. Each volunteer receives a bag with resources like flashcards, manipulatives and books.

“The bag has things they can do anytime, like flashcards, and it has a folder with notes I create after I talk with the teacher. I want the tutoring to mirror what they’re doing in the classroom,” Widmer said. “A tutor’s biggest fear is sitting down with a student and not knowing what to do. My job is to make sure they always have something up-to-date to do so they always feel confident while tutoring.”

Grand Success is a program from the Family Advocacy Center

Grand Success is an overflow of the Family Advocacy Center’s Grand Love program, which offers resources and support for grandparents raising their grandchildren. The Grand Success program was founded in March, 2021, by Grand Love Coordinator Judy Peters.

“She started this because many of the children in the Grand Love program struggle in school because they’ve lived through so much trauma. They’re not living with their parent anymore, and sometimes, they don’t see them anymore. They may have left or be in prison or died,” Widmer said. “We all know trauma affects your ability to learn.”

Last school year, 15 students were tutored by Grand Success volunteers. Widmer is hoping to have more participants this year, but she needs volunteers to keep the program going. After she recruits volunteers, she will find students to connect with them. Tutoring will begin in October.

For more information on becoming a volunteer tutor, call the Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center at 419-301-0255 or visit www.ocfamilyadvocacy.org.

Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at  sheritrusty4@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Meet Your Neighbor: Retired educator leading 'Grand Success' tutor program