Tamara Korenman is an assistant professor of education and Eileen Quinn Knight is a professor of education at Saint Xavier University in Chicago.
In the past, collaboration between universities and high schools has been limited to placing student teachers in a classroom so that they can get acclimated to the teaching environment. But Saint Xavier University wanted more for its students.
We wanted them to develop their teaching skills in a deeper manner than what was expected in the past.
The high school also had an agenda. It needed help to establish a tutoring program to increase students' ACT test scores and, as a result, improve the school's standing on Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports.
What developed was a two-year-old initiative that illustrates how tutoring programs become effective when a partnership is engaging and supported by the entire community. And it also illustrates how collaboration can provide windows of opportunity at a low cost.
In a tough economic market, this also is a way to provide ongoing help without added personnel expenses for high schools.
How it developed
In the summer of 2006, personnel from a high school in a southwest suburb of Chicago contacted the School of Education at Saint Xavier University to propose a tutoring program at their school. At the same time, university professors were searching for ways to enrich field experiences for their teacher candidates and engage them in interaction with adolescents. It seemed plausible that a tutoring program would meet the goals of the high school as well as the university.
University faculty met with school administrators to discuss procedures and outcomes of the program, agreeing that it would take place during homeroom and after school. The school library — a quiet, spacious room with tables, comfortable chairs and a cozy fireplace — was identified as a place for tutoring sessions.
High school personnel identified a target population: a group of "bubble students" — sophomores who scored just a few points below what is required as a minimum to meet AYP targets in Illinois. While the immediate focus was to raise students' test scores, they also wanted to build a community of learners.
In addition to the target group, the program was open to all students who wanted to improve their ACT scores and receive homework help, as well as students who realized the need for additional help to get into college. The tutoring program was advertised to students, parents, teachers, counselors and coaches.
Raising student test scores and having them involved in the conversations about the challenge of overcoming a roadblock in their academic work was of paramount importance. But on a deeper level, the program also was designed to help high school students, as well as the teacher candidates, see the importance of life after earning a high school diploma and the happiness that can be experienced with life-long learning. This was pivotal in the development of the characteristics of a true community of learners.
How it worked
Personnel from the high school visited university classrooms at the beginning of each semester to introduce the program and recruit teacher candidates to work as tutors. Teacher candidates who expressed interest were asked to sign up for specific days and hours to participate. They also indicated their subject preferences for math, science or reading. Teacher candidates also were asked whether or not they spoke Polish, Spanish or Arabic. High school personnel used this information, predicting tutoring pairs in the different languages.
The teacher education office was in charge of submitting appropriate documentation to the school. Since a criminal background check became a required procedure for entering a school several years ago, teacher candidates had to undergo this procedure prior to their field experience. This step was helpful for both the school and the university to maintain the program in an efficient, effective and legal manner.
The school also undertook another important step. The office developed special badges for tutors and assigned staff to assure quick sign-in at the school entrance for tutors. Tutors also had reserved parking spaces.
High school personnel volunteered to supervise every tutoring session and provide test materials to use during the sessions. When tutors walked into the school library, the high school counselor greeted them and handed out the tutoring materials that contained a test score analysis for the student and a feedback form for the tutor. Teacher candidates recorded the topic covered and the progress accomplished during the session. The counselor collected the materials after each tutoring session and stored them in a special box in the library. Tutoring sessions usually lasted an hour during homeroom and 90 minutes for those who came after school.
After the sessions, the volunteer teachers who had prepared the materials collected them and corrected them. At the next session, the teachers provided an item-by-item test analysis and displayed correct and incorrect responses to the test items for each individual. In addition, the materials included a general study guide for each standardized test so the tutors knew exactly what was expected during each session of the tutoring.
Benefits for all
The program proved to be beneficial for both the high school students and their teacher candidate tutors. The high school students improved their test scores, the school met its AYP targets and it was removed from the No Child Left Behind watch list. In addition to achieving its AYP goals, the educators involved in the program observed positive outcomes on the social and emotional interaction between tutors and high school students. The conversations with tutors about life goals, importance of education and career choices were highly engaging and informative.
High school personnel discussed and analyzed their observations of the dynamics of changes occurring with the high school students. Those who attended tutoring sessions on a weekly basis developed a more focused, purposeful approach to schoolwork. They also observed that high school students were excited about the opportunity to study with tutors. They appreciated receiving feedback and encouragement for every small step in the improvement of their test scores. In addition, the opportunity to learn about making responsible decisions, building a social network, and fitting in culturally for those who were still learning about the American way of living were valuable for making decisions about their future.
Informal discussions with high school students indicated that they believed that studying one-on-one and in small groups with a tutor who was just a few years older was a valuable opportunity to improve grades and, at the same time, learn about life. Many high school students described their participation in the tutoring program as well worth the time investment, which will reflect far beyond their test scores.
Community support
The success of the tutoring program would not be possible without support of the community. In addition to involving personnel at the entire school and the collaborative effort of university professors and teacher candidate tutors, the project involved members of the local community.
An education consortium of local business people requested the tutoring program report on a regular basis. The community wanted assurance that the school would maintain its AYP standing so it could continue to be an asset for area taxpayers. Community interest and support concerning the academic accomplishments of the high school students was expressed in the local newspaper, reflecting a larger resonance among parents and guardians of the students.
Simultaneously, the Saint Xavier professors wanted to inform other high schools and universities about the effective practice of collaboration. Both the university professors and the high school personnel presented the success of the tutoring programs at international, national and local conferences. Measuring the impact of the program on the achievement of high school students and the deeper understanding of the teacher candidates about the teaching profession became an on-going research agenda for the Saint Xavier partners involved in the project.
Expanding horizons
The successful collaboration between the high school and the university was circulated among local school districts. As a result, seven high schools contacted the university asking to replicate the project and provide tutors to assist high school students on a regular basis.
Even though the demand for tutors is high and the university has a high value on their partnership with the high school, the program's goal is to keep the commitment on a level that will allow for a personalized interaction between the high school students and their teacher candidate tutors. This interaction assisted the teacher candidates in becoming more confident in their teaching abilities as they indicated in their weekly journals. In this way university professors will ensure the effectiveness of the collaboration.
The university will provide on-going support to schools in their attempts to improve students' test scores and enhance their learning communities by interactions of students with teacher candidates, while the school personnel, school board members and the local community take an active role in educating high school students.
Plans for the future include launching mentoring programs to assist high school students in establishing life goals with consideration of their entrance into higher education and, for this purpose, mastering skills of reading and writing. University professors, high school personnel and local community members will continue collaborating to ensure that a good education is accessible for all students.