In any community, a school's success is not determined only by the professional expertise of principal, teachers and staff, but also by the countless other support systems set in place to assist in guiding students along their educational journey. Support systems such as PTAs are integral in filling the inherent gaps that occur in a large public educational system. However, in Queen Anne and Magnolia the educational community has taken it a step farther, developing a unique, nonprofit organization that advocates for schools and students.
Successful Schools in Action, or SSIA, encourages a strong and collaborative community through which seven neighborhood public schools share resources and work closely with neighborhood partners. With the principals from all seven schools working collectively.
SSIA has initiated several programs targeting more than 3,000 students along a broad spectrum of ethnically, racially and economically diverse backgrounds.
One of these, the Community Volunteer Tutor Program, pairs teacher-identified struggling students with volunteer tutors from the community. As one tutor notes, "I was really needed in the position.... It was a true community experience."
The program, now starting its third year, has placed more than 100 trained tutor volunteers in local schools, with several hundred students served. "Tutors have a tremendous impact on students," states Justin Baeder, head teacher at John Hay Elementary. "When a student is struggling to develop a new skill or master a new concept, a tutor can address the specific difficulties that they face."
Although the program has been a success, there are challenges. As Flo Minehan, program manager for the tutoring program, explains, "It's sometimes hard to get volunteers because the perception is we have students of high socioeconomic status in Queen Anne and Magnolia who aren't in need of help because of their backgrounds or where they live. In fact, our schools' demographics include children of all backgrounds and socioeconomic levels, and any child can have academic struggles. We address this with our tutoring program."
Support for the program comes in the form of not only grants but also community and business donations. And as the success of the Community Volunteer Program grows, so too do its goals and, subsequently, its budget needs.
A new budget need for the 2007-08 school year is SSIA's addition of paid math tutors. In response to teacher and principal requests, SSIA hopes to aggressively address the needs of those students not performing adequately in this subject. Because reliability and mastery are essential in tutoring math, SSIA has added the paid positions as an incentive for recruiting and retaining tutors. But in order to provide this service, they need your help! SSIA is seeking business and individual Math Funding Partners whose contributions will sponsor hours of student tutoring in math. Current funding partners include: The Mannix Canby Foundation, Bank of America, Bay Bank and the Queen Anne office of Gerrard, Beattie & Knapp.
For more information about SSIA programs and the Community Volunteer Program, or if you would like to become a Math Tutor Funding Partner, visit the Web site at: www.schoolsinaction.org, or contact Executive Director Lisa Moore, lisamoore@schoolsinaction.org or 378-0797.
Submitted by Julia Petersen, Executive Intern, SSIA
