Students deployed as literacy tutors
This June, 62 college students provided literacy tutoring for elementary school summer learning programs in Statesboro and Savannah. The tutors worked with small groups of students for four weeks to prevent summer learning loss and improve student attitudes about reading.
The tutors were recruited from Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University, East Georgia College, Savannah Technical College and Ogeechee Technical College. They received training from Georgia Southern’s College of Education (COE) faculty before interacting with students. Then, midway through the term, they received additional training alongside classroom teachers, including instruction from national literacy expert Lester Laminack.
Alisa Leckie, Ph.D., COE assistant dean for partnerships and outreach, helped to develop the project and oversees its implementation. She says, “We have seen positive results for our partner schools and our college students. The extended time for individual interaction between tutor and child has an immense impact.”
The tutoring initiative is a project of the Regional Education Collaborative (REC), a partnership between education, government and business in the Statesboro and Savannah area. Tutors were deployed in 2021 to combat the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on area schools. In 2022, the project expanded with funding from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund. This year, the project expanded again with Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools funding additional training and the project team adding additional assessments.