Blog

Mikayla Overcomes Learning Challenges in Math

By Eric Steckel
October 15, 2021

One-on-One Attention Helps Child Focus, Develop Self-confidence

Mikayla*, one of the first children to enroll in Children Rising’s Path2Math online tutoring program, is like so many second-grade girls. She has a collection of stuffed animals — and unicorns — loves playing with her cousins and friends, and adores Elsa from the movie Frozen. Like so many children in Oakland, she also struggles with foundational math skills and lags behind grade level.

Tutoring two hours a week – either online or in-person – is all it takes to empower two struggling students to overcome learning challenges, and recover academically and emotionally from the pandemic.

“She has had challenges,” Mey Mey, Mikayla’s mother, explained. “She likes to learn and she likes hands-on learning. But she might be dyslexic. It’s made reading, writing, everything a little bit more difficult for her.”

Kathleen Baker, a Path2Math tutor, worked with Mikayla in the spring and summer. “Mikayla’s just a sweetheart. Definitely on the shyer side, but she really enjoys math,” she said. “It takes a little while to get them to feel comfortable and talk about themselves, so I always show them my dogs right away. It’s a great ice breaker, and it just warms them up immediately.”

Once they got to know one another, Mikayla and Kathleen jumped into math together. “The Path2Math IXL program is fantastic,” Kathleen explained. “The way it diagnoses where a child is and then gives you the recommendations is just fantastic. If the child misses a few problems in a row, it takes them back to where they had success, but it keeps moving them forward in their skill level. And that’s what we did with Mikayla, and she just kept achieving new skills.”

“When I saw her figuring things out in her head, I was like, ‘Whoa, that is just amazing!’. And I let her know how amazing I think she is.” — Kathleen Baker, Path2Math Tutor

Despite her challenges, Mikayla has made significant progress. She started off working on first-grade level exercises and achieved a certificate of completion. She then moved on to second-grade level and has mastered many of the skills to reach grade-level proficiency.

Each time she reached a certificate, we printed it out so she could put it on her wall. “Mikayla can point to that certificate and say, ‘That’s me. That’s what I achieved.’ It is about praising the accomplishment and building their self-esteem and confidence.” Kathleen said.

Your support of Children Rising helped Mikayla recover from COVID-19 learning loss and catch up to her classmates in math.

Tutors frequently have “aha” moments where all the hard work starts to connect and click. “One of the things that really blew my mind towards the end of our time was Mikayla started adding and subtracting in her head, not on paper, and not counting on her fingers. I could see her eyes moving when she was trying to figure something out, and then she would come up with the answer.”

MeyMey credits the one-on-one attention. “It helps her focus. When she’s in a group, she might think, ‘I don’t have to do this part.’ but one-on-one, she remains focused and engaged.”

As Mikayla moves into third grade this year, the work she has done in Path2Math will position her to catch up to grade level and succeed in school.

You can become a tutor today. You can give a struggling student the boost they need to reach their God-given potential!

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

* Names changed to protect the identity of the students

Perspectives – Bridging Digital Divide Provides Online Tutoring Opportunity for All

By Jim Wambach
July 13, 2021

“The Internet is not a luxury, it is a necessity.” – President Barack Obama

Over the last six months, Children Rising has launched online versions of our proven reading and math tutoring clinics. This greatly enhances our ability to support elementary school children who have fallen even further behind in their reading and math abilities due to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of this would have been possible without the amazing progress the community has made in bridging the digital divide.

“With a levelling of the playing field in access to technology, we see a profound opportunity for community partners to take the Oakland community a step closer to the day when every child can have access to a tutor, regardless of their family’s financial resources.”

The Oakland Undivided Campaign, a partnership between the Mayor’s office of education, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) the Oakland Public Education Fund, and Tech Exchange, made dramatic strides toward ensuring that every student in Oakland has access to a computer and the internet. It was a herculean effort with wide-ranging benefits for children, youth, and families who struggled to keep up with technology requirements of 21st century education. And it was long overdue!

Your support helped close the digital divide and ensures that children struggling in reading and math are no longer excluded by lack of technology or financial resources.

With a leveling of the playing field in access to technology, we see a profound opportunity for community partners to take the Oakland community a step closer to the day when every child can have access to a tutor, regardless of their family’s financial resources. Children Rising’s online tutoring provides opportunities for many more caring adults throughout the Bay Area to tutor a struggling child, all from the comfort of their home or office. And with additional tutors, we can come alongside many more students struggling in reading or math.

The online functionality is an enhancement of the proven Succeeding by Reading and Path2Math tutoring programs. Students in need of additional instruction will now be able to receive tutoring outside of school hours and throughout the summer. In addition, the ability to support parents in coaching their child, as well as provide access to educational tools, is a significant program enrichment.

Trained, caring tutors are key to empowering children to rise to their God-given potential. We can’t wait to get back to in-person tutoring, but now our amazing tutors are available online as well. We recognized this unique opportunity so that when students do return to the classroom, we will be better prepared to support and empower many more children, their families, and our school partners.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Nakoa Continues His Progress in Math

By Eric Steckel
July 9, 2021

Summer tutoring sessions should get him back to grade level

Over the course of the school year, we have been monitoring and sharing the progress of Nakoa*, one of our eager Path2Math students.

Nakoa has made significant progress this year. Through summer tutoring sessions, he should be able to reach grade level in math going into fourth grade.

Nakoa first enrolled in Path2Math as a second-grader in the 2019-2020 school year. He had been making significant progress in his math skills, and was on course to get back to grade level. When schools closed last March due to COVID-19, Nakoa, like so many students, began to struggle. Despite the best efforts by our dedicated teachers and principals, distance learning was not an adequate substitute for in-school instruction. Ms. Cheryl, his grandmother, was alarmed when Nakoa began to fall further behind once again.

Fortunately for Nakoa, he has a loving caregiver who advocated for his education. Ms. Cheryl reached out to Children Rising.

“I didn’t want him to fall behind,” she explained. “I’m a grandma, I’m not a teacher, so I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to give him what he needed to sustain his level of learning.”

“The online tutoring has allowed us to adapt to the student’s need on a more individual level.” — Reto Peter, Path2Math Tutor

In October, Nakoa was re-enrolled as a third-grader in Path2Math Anywhere, our newly-developed online tutoring program. Since then, he has been working with Mr. Reto, one of our experienced math tutors, once a week for 45 minutes. Despite some absences and hiccups along the way, Nakoa’s progress has been steady and consistent.

Ms. Cheryl is happy that Nakoa is receiving summer tutoring and hopes that her grandson will get back to grade level in math going into the fourth grade.

“The online tutoring has allowed us to adapt to the student’s need on a more individual level,” Mr. Reto told us. “However, with everything that’s going on in their house, and their home and their environment, it can be challenging sometimes. But, because their regular teachers just can’t give them the individual attention they need, we as tutors can do that, even if it’s just an hour a week.”

In that time, Nakoa has mastered 40 skills in all, including 22 skills in Level E (third grade) and three skills in Level F (fourth grade). That puts his overall math level at 340, which is squarely between third- and fourth-grade level. Our goal is to get Nakoa’s math level to 400, which is where he needs to be going into fourth-grade math.

The good news is that because of the expansion of our online tutoring program, Nakoa will continue to work with Mr. Reto through summer tutoring sessions. Although Nakoa’s attendance and effort is key to reaching his goals, Mr. Reto is confident.

“He’s ready to work when we get online. He loves when we do speed flash cards, and he’s been showing some interest in geometry, so it’s been fun, it’s been great.”

We are so pleased with Nakoa’s hard work and look forward to reporting on Nakoa’s progress going into fourth grade.

* Names changed to protect the identity of the students

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Carlos Gets a Boost From Online Tutor

By Eric Steckel
July 6, 2021

Eager student overcoming COVID-related learning loss with online tutor

Your support of Children Rising programs helped Carlos recover from loss of learning caused by the closing of schools last March.

Carlos has a smile and infectious personality that lights up a Zoom meeting room. He is an eager second-grader who enjoys learning. However, Carlos has struggled with distance learning since schools closed last March. To help overcome his learning loss, teachers enrolled him in Succeeding by Reading Anywhere, the online version of our proven reading tutoring program.

“When I was first reaching out to Carlos’s family to arrange for pre-testing, Carlos’s mother told me that she knew that her son needed help with reading. But she didn’t know how to help him. She didn’t know what to do to help him develop reading skills,” explained Rebecca Buckley, Director of Succeeding by Reading.

A literacy diagnostic indicated that Carlos was indeed significantly behind grade-level reading for a second-grader. He began working with reading tutor Anne Yamada midway through the school year and quickly won her over.

“He has a positive outlook. He doesn’t hesitate to seize the moment and celebrate when he’s learning something new.” Anne told us. “I hear him laughing and giggling, and that is just a wonderful thing to experience with him.”

The Succeeding by Reading program starts by working with a child based on the skills they already know. This creates a solid foundation and builds confidence in themselves. We then start adding new skills, little by little. Despite working with a tutor for less than half of the school year, Carlos has made significant gains.

“I also feel that it’s one of the most meaningful ways that you can spend 55 minutes of your week — helping a child with reading and changing a life.” – Anne Yamada, Succeeding by Reading online tutor

Online tutors like Anne are helping students overcome learning loss and get back to grade level.

“He’s increased his sight word vocabulary by 95 words.” Anne was happy to report. “We’ve read through five levels of books and have progressed to the next learning tier. His comprehension is really starting to take hold in that he reads with expression, he self-corrects, and he’s enjoying the storyline so much more.”

Although the 2020-2021 school year has ended and Carlos is still significantly behind grade-level reading, this determined lad’s journey with us isn’t finished yet. Because of our development of online tutoring, we can work with students outside of the normal school calendar, and train and place more caring tutors for the upcoming year. That means Carlos will continue his tutoring twice a week during the summer and can reenroll in Succeeding by Reading in the third grade.

“I think it’s just amazing and remarkable that Children Rising was able to pivot so quickly and design this wonderful online program that enables regular people like me to tutor the children,” Anne said. “I also feel that it’s one of the most meaningful ways that you can spend 55 minutes of your week — helping a child with reading and changing a life.”

With hard work and the extra support from a caring tutor, Carlos should overcome the learning loss he has experienced and reach grade-level reading next year. That transformative experience will be a springboard for him to reach his God-given potential in elementary school, middle school, and beyond.

* Names changed to protect the identity of the students

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Perspectives – Oakland Undivided Forever Maintains Path Toward Closing Digital Divide, Achieving Educational Equity

By Jim Wambach
July 1, 2021

Access to Technology ensures that all children in Oakland have a fair and equitable chance to succeed in school

Your support of Children Rising and Oakland Undivided is closing the digital divide and laying the groundwork for lasting educational equity.

On June 30th, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and its Oakland Undivided partners announced the celebration and expansion of their vision for closing the digital divide and achieving lasting educational equity. Children Rising could not be more delighted with this fantastic news.

The Oakland Undivided Campaign, a partnership between the Mayor’s office of education, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the Oakland Public Education Fund, and Tech Exchange, made dramatic strides toward closing the digital divide over the past year. With the announcement of Oakland Undivided FOREVER, this groundbreaking program will be extended long into the future.

This is an important development for our community schools!

Access to technology not only closes the digital divide. It ensures that all children in Oakland have a fair and equitable chance to succeed in school and reach their God-given potential in life.

“Lack of technology and internet access is an equity issue across the country, and Oakland shows us that a solution is not only within reach, but that it can happen very quickly.” — Cindy Marten, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education

It also lays the groundwork for nonprofits to provide expanded enrichment programs for students in need of additional academic support. Just last month, Children Rising announced the launch of free online math and reading tutoring to boost the COVID recovery for elementary school children. Online tutoring is only made possible through student access to technology and the closing of the digital divide that has hampered so many students from low-income backgrounds.

We applaud the efforts of our community leaders in making this public-private partnership a reality.

“In order to achieve equity in education, we must guarantee that all students have the tools they need to succeed,” said OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “Let’s face it, in the 21st century if you don’t have a computer and internet connectivity, you are at a serious disadvantage because you cannot do your work remotely, and worse, you can’t access the world of information that exists on the web. We must ensure that all Oakland students have the same ability to access their education as their peers here and across the country.”

Oakland Undivided raised more than $12.5 million and distributed more than 29,000 computers and 10,000 internet hot spots to students in need to keep at home, along with accessible culturally competent tech support for all. In less than a year.

This is a momentous announcement and one that the entire Oakland community should be proud of. Indeed, our national leaders have taken notice as well.

“What Oakland is doing for their students and families in closing the digital divide is remarkable,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education, Cindy Marten. “Lack of technology and internet access is an equity issue across the country, and Oakland shows us that a solution is not only within reach, but that it can happen very quickly. #OaklandUndivided is a thoughtful, strategic model that addresses both immediate needs and sustainable solutions to close the digital divide for good.”

If people want to help, online tutoring means that opportunities are more possible and more important than ever. Just an hour of time, once a week, allows a caring adult to tutor a struggling student in reading or math and make a lasting difference in that child’s life, all from the comfort of their home or office. Thanks to Oakland Undivided for making so much of this possible… for the children!

YES, I CAN ensure children have a fair and equitable chance in school!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf Sees Bridges of Hope for Oakland Children

By Eric Steckel
June 1, 2021

Since taking office in 2015, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf has focused her efforts on improving education in our community schools. It has been central to her vision for the future of Oakland. Children Rising was honored to welcome Mayor Schaaf, who once again shared her thoughts during our Hope for Children Now LIVE gala.

Building Bridges of Hope: Opportunity and Challenge

“What a perfect theme for this year’s gala, Bridges of Hope. I can’t think of anything more apropos to the year 2021,” she told our audience. “Our children need us now more than ever.”

Since schools closed their doors in March 2020, the achievement gap in schools serving our lowest-income communities has widened. But like many of us, Mayor Schaaf sees signs of hope as COVID-19 cases drop and we cautiously move forward and schools begin to reopen. “We know that our children will never get that year of learning back. We also know that nothing is more impactful in the life of a child than a caring adult. Children Rising has been providing those caring adults in such an impactful way to the children and families of Oakland for 20 years.”

Mayor Schaaf also reminded us of another bridge of hope: overcoming the digital divide. The Oakland Undivided Campaign, a partnership between the Mayor’s office of education, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD), the Oakland Public Education Fund and Tech Exchange, made dramatic strides toward closing the digital divide. Online tutoring is made possible by student access to technology and provides long-term enrichment to our proven one-on-one programs.

Hope for Children Now Special Guest Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf

“By moving more of your tutoring to an online format, you not only can reach more children, but can also engage more volunteers, more caring adults, more impactful mentors. That is our opportunity and our challenge.”

She urged caring members of the community to help. “With more online opportunities and the amazing connection that only a mentoring relationship can give you, you and your friends will be so glad that you have gotten involved as a volunteer or a tutor for Children Rising.”

We thank Mayor Schaaf for her commitment to educational equity in our community schools, and her unwavering focus in empowering children and youth to rise to their God-given potential.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Rita Moreno Shares Her Passion for Childhood Education

By Eric Steckel
May 27, 2021

Rita Moreno is a national treasure. She has won Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, and Tony awards as an actress, singer, and performer. Although she has been in the limelight for nearly 70 years, her story is a uniquely American one. And Children Rising was honored to have Rita as our special guest at Hope for Children Now LIVE.

Rita came to the United States when she was five years old. “I didn’t know it then but my mom was fleeing the stinging poverty of Puerto Rico,” she explained. “My mom was looking for a better life for the two of us…’a place where everyone is good to you and you have opportunities, and it’s all going to be much better.’ It didn’t happen quite that way, but it’s been an extraordinary experience.”

Rita’s mother quickly found work as a seamstress in the garment district. Rita experienced winter for the first time, and sometimes had to run from bullies. “It was sort of like ‘West Side Story.’ We were the working poor, the people they’re now calling lazy.”

“Isn’t teaching children to read a basic human service? It is up to us who care to look out for them in any way we can.” — Rita Moreno

Growing up, mentors and role models didn’t exist, at least for little girls like her. “People assume that everybody has a mentor, especially when they’re in show business, not me. So that’s really why I am here to celebrate and support your good work of hope, labor, love.”

Children Rising was honored to have Rita as our special guest at Hope for Children Now LIVE.

Of course, Rita is best known for her role as Anita in West Side Story. However, many also know her for her spirited performances in the Electric Company, the groundbreaking educational children’s television show.

When she became a mother, she had no idea how gratifying it would be. “From the day my daughter was born, I started working in my profession for her in a very special way to make her proud. And it’s why I wanted to do a show called ‘The Electric Company.’”

At the time it was a risky career move. “All my friends and colleagues said, ‘Are you crazy? Don’t do a children’s show. You will never work as an adult again in show business.” But she was undeterred. “I’m talking about doing a service, a community service. Isn’t teaching children to read a basic human service?”

Fortunately for Rita and her adoring fans, she did indeed work again. In fact, she is in the process of filming the updated remake of “West Side Story.” But she hasn’t lost sight of the need to nurture and equip children and youth, especially the marginalized.

“It is up to us who care to look out for them in any way we can.”

That perfectly sums up the essence of our community enablement model. For all of you in our community who care, this is the perfect opportunity to put your faith into action. It’s never been simpler – or more important – to become a tutor or mentor today. You can empower a child to rise to their God-given potential.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Succeeding by Reading Literacy Tutoring Re-Launches Online

By Eric Steckel
April 1, 2021

Opportunities to innovate in support of student learning

Your support during our pivot to online tutoring provides exciting opportunities to innovate for improved student learning.

Succeeding by Reading Anywhere – Children Rising’s one-on-one, online literacy tutoring program – officially launched the first week of January, and expanded in February to serve seven schools. We are delighted to once again work with children so eager to learn to read.

The launch comes after months of development. Rebecca Buckley, Succeeding by Reading program director, and Bekah Wilson, program manager, began by diligently researching online versions of our current materials as well as hands-on learning tools that would be accessible to students and tutors alike.

Clinic coordinators Jeannette Brantley, Brenda Paulin, and Gwen Stephens reviewed the new materials, and together the team developed a platform that would equip tutors to use the materials online with their kids. The team then trained our energized returning tutors to become proficient at using the new system.

“It’s been quite an adventure, and we are thrilled to begin deploying tutors to serve many more students and families this month,” Rebecca Buckley said.

More than just a program pivot

The COVID-enforced distance learning directives meant that the SbR team had to entirely reimagine how tutors and students could work together productively. However, it provided our team the opportunity to integrate improvements into the curriculum to better align with current research and equip our tutors to serve students even more effectively.

Online versions of our materials, coupled with hands-on learning tools and trained, caring tutors, empowers children to learn to read.

One of the new developments involved expanding the scope of the Succeeding by Reading curriculum to address the needs of students who may have missed key elements in early-childhood learning. Some children are farther behind in their reading skills than we were previously able to address. Along with adapting our clinic model to the online environment, we are now prepared to say “Yes” to students who are farther behind their peers.

“We’ve taken advantage of this unexpected opportunity for deeper reflection on our work with students and more extensive research on reading. This has led us to review and improve our materials in order to better respond to the needs of struggling readers. So perhaps there is a silver lining to this pandemic time.” – Rebecca Buckley

The online tutoring model provides an opportunity to develop meaningful relationships and actively partner with the families, providing support in a far more holistic way. This includes homework assistance, additional tutoring for students in need of that little bit of extra help, and guidance in accessing laptops, hotspots, headphones, and more from the Oakland Unified School District.

Your support has allowed us to act immediately and effectively on behalf of the children. With the addition of online tutoring, many more members of our community will be able to come alongside a child and help them learn to read.

Your $250 pairs a second-grade child with a personal tutor for the remainder of the academic year.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Perspectives – Online Tutoring Fosters Holistic Relationships With Children and Families

By Jim Wambach
January 26, 2021

Unintended consequences can be a great thing. As Children Rising develops our one-on-one online tutoring resources to address the challenges of distance learning, we are discovering many outcomes that will better support the children and families, and foster holistic relationships.

Online tutoring tools are fun and engaging for the children, and they allow us to gather real-time data to track the progress of the child. However, the connections we have been able to make with the families of our kids is a significant, additional benefit derived from online tutoring. We are excited that the impact is significant now, and will carry over into the future even after schools open and in-person tutoring resumes. By establishing a one-on-one connection with the families, we are better able to partner with them and provide support for their children in a far more holistic way.

“Perhaps most importantly, the relationships we have forged have shown the families that they are not alone, and others in the community care enough to help their child.”

We first noticed how eager parents were for their children to receive online tutoring when we launched Path2Math Anywhere. These parents could not afford a tutor for their children. Concerned their children were falling further and further behind, they took time out of their busy, often hectic schedules, to learn about our tools. They were so incredibly eager for additional resources and welcomed the opportunity to partner with us. This has opened up important relationships we were unable to forge through our traditional in-school model.

Deeper, richer relationships with children and their families

Your support helped us deliver one-on-one online tutoring, which has allowed us to develop deeper, richer relationships with children and their families.

As the tutor-parent-student relationships blossomed, we began to ask ourselves, “What more can we do?” We noticed that while the parents were eager for academic support, many of them needed help accessing technology and getting their child online. Through our newfound relationships, we were able to listen to their needs, and provide them with guidance in accessing laptops, hot spots, headphones, and more from the Oakland Unified School District, as well as other outlets.

Once connected, many parents were concerned that their child was already far behind in their homework assignments. They asked if they could receive homework support in addition to tutoring. One boy was an astounding 17 assignments behind just two months into the school year! Unconstrained by class schedules, we began to include homework support as part of the tutoring to help students catch up and better understand their assignments. Now we are able to assist the children as they learn the foundational skills, and then guide them through their assignments when they need a little extra help.

Demarcus was 17 assignments behind just 2 months into the school year. You helped his family get the resources he needed to catch up to his classmates.

Perhaps most importantly, the relationships we have forged have shown the families that they are not alone, and others in the community care enough to help their child. So many of them are feeling the stress of balancing an already difficult set of life challenges with the additional responsibilities imposed by the daily demands of distance learning. Our tutors and clinic coordinators provide an understanding ear and a knowledgeable resource that can help guide them.

All of this underscores what we have known all along, that it’s all about relationships. Thanks to an unintended consequence of distance learning, we are now developing deeper, richer relationships with children and their families. Relationships that we believe will accelerate a child’s ability to learn and catch-up to grade-level skills in reading and math in the months and years ahead.

PS: Please consider joining the Children Rising Legacy Circle, a group of passionate supporters who have created a legacy gift. Legacy gifts may be including Children Rising in their will, or making us a beneficiary of their life insurance. For years to come, you will ensure that an elementary school child has a dedicated tutor and friend, or a high school youth has a caring mentor.

YES, I CAN empower a child to build bridges to a better future!

 I want to learn more about online reading or math clinics to see if tutoring is right for me!

I want to help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year!

Path2Math Provides Nakoa Structure, Support, and Online Math Tutoring in Midst of COVID-19

By Eric Steckel
October 2, 2020

Your gifts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic have provided Nakoa additional learning resources – and online math tutoring – so that he can retain what he has learned.

Online math tutoring program to continue Nakoa’s progress

Nakoa* is a typical 8-year-old boy living through COVID-19. Outgoing, personable, and a hard worker in school, he wants to learn and succeed. But, like an entire generation of school children, he’s been stuck at home, unable to see his friends, and sorely missing the structure and instruction from school.

Last year, Nakoa was behind his classmates in math, and was enrolled in Path2Math. Working with Michelle Hutcherson, he was making very good progress until COVID-19 struck. Although we could no longer meet with Nakoa for weekly tutoring, Ms. Cheryl, his grandmother, was very happy to receive math worksheets and a Safeway gift card as part of our COVID-19 Family Relief Program. “I am not a teacher, and he doesn’t respond to me like he responds to his teachers,” she explained. “I was just happy for any resources that would help Nakoa because I don’t want him to fall behind.”

Nakoa has his own workspace at the dining table with his computer, pencils, and pens. He likes his setup. It motivates him, and he’s done well so far with distance learning. “Unfortunately, there’s just not enough of it yet. He needs structure,” Ms. Cheryl explained.

“I was just happy for any resources that would help Nakoa, because I don’t want him to fall behind.” – Cheryl Edwards, Nakoa’s grandmother

Like an entire generation of school children, Nakoa’s been stuck at home, unable to see his friends, and sorely missing the structure and instruction from school.

Recalling the packets of math worksheets Nakoa received over the summer, she reached out to Children Rising last month. Steve Nation, the Path2Math program coordinator at Nakoa’s school, immediately sent the family some additional math worksheets to help. While it seems like a small gesture, Ms. Cheryl was uplifted to know there were resources to help her.

“I was just so impressed that Children Rising followed up. I’d love to get Nakoa additional resources, but I’m so thankful.”

Nakoa and his grandmother are not alone. There are so many eager students in need of a little extra guidance, support, and individual attention. The Path2Math and Succeeding by Reading teams are working tirelessly to adapt and enhance our proven one-on-one tutoring programs to incorporate online learning functionality.

Nakoa’s school will be part of our online math tutoring program this year. At the request of his principal, we plan to enroll Nakoa and others in his class, continuing where we left off when shelter-in-place orders went into effect. With his enthusiasm to learn and the guidance of his caring tutor, we look forward to Nakoa getting back to grade level in math this year.

YES, I CAN help a promising child eager to learn.

 I am interested in online tutoring. Tell me more!

 I want help fund Children Rising tutoring and mentoring programs.

*Name changed to maintain confidentiality

A Time For Change and a Time for Hope

By Jim Wambach
July 21, 2020

Perspectives Article by Jim Wambach, Executive Director

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” — Barack Obama

At the end of March, someone asked how they could cancel their 90-day trial of 2020! Throughout these past months, we have been exposed to more poverty, more hunger, more death, more disadvantage, and more incidents of racial injustice. We have been forced to change our way of life and our view of reality.

So many children in our community, eager to learn and grow, were traumatically cut off from their friends, teachers, and tutors. Our local schools have struggled to provide quality distance learning, exposing the digital divide for how it’s been maintaining the achievement gap for some of our most vulnerable children and youth. The children we care so much about will be even further behind as we start the new school year.

Nevertheless, I am hopeful as we look toward the second half of this challenging year. There are many indications that the struggles during the first half of the year may result in opportunities for lasting, positive change.

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” — Socrates

OUSD recently received $12.5 million of donations so every child within the district will receive computers and internet access. This opens them to the world of information so crucial to learning, and helps them become more adept at using technology. We may also be at a historical tipping point in our centuries-old struggle for social and racial justice, where our country finally takes long overdue steps to end systemic racism once and for all.

Our tutoring programs are being re-imagined to accommodate the ongoing social distancing guidelines. We are implementing a remote tutoring capability for this school year which will enhance the opportunity to include parents online. Our goal is to more intentionally engage families, such as Justeen’s, and accelerate learning for the children we serve.

Your support will enable a tutor to nurture and empower a child in school and at home through what promises to be a challenging, but hopeful, academic year.

Socrates said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Indeed, I see a community focused on building the new and I am hopeful. Please continue to join us as we build toward the future by providing your financial support, or investing your time as a volunteer.

YES, I CAN help a promising child eager to learn.

 I am interested in online tutoring this fall!

 I want help fund Children Rising online tutoring and mentoring programs to empower more children this year.