Tutoring partnership benefits schools, UW-Madison

An innovative partnership between the Madison Metropolitan School District and local volunteers — including hundreds of UW–Madison students — is making a positive impact on the lives of local elementary and middle school students.

MadisonCorps for Learning was developed to recruit and place one-to-one math and reading tutors in the Madison Metropolitan School District fourth- through eighth-grade classrooms. One of the program’s goals is closing the achievement gap between students of color and their white peers.

The program, funded by an AmeriCorps Volunteers In Service To America (VISTA) grant through the Wisconsin campus Compact, was launched in July, and already more than 400 UW–Madison volunteers and work-study students are involved.

“This has been a totally mutually beneficial program,” says Kathy Price, Madison public schools partnerships coordinator. “UW-Madison students get a meaningful volunteer placement, while we receive a vital piece of support for students who aren’t working up to their capacity. It’s a winner all around.”

To participate, volunteers visit an assigned school for a weekly one-hour time block during regular school classroom hours. Volunteers need not have any past experience in tutoring or an education background, though many are pursuing education, engineering, English or Spanish majors.

So far, 70 percent of UW–Madison tutors are assisting in math for the sixth through eighth grades in nine different schools. Thirty percent of the tutors are literacy tutors for kindergarten through third grades throughout Madison’s elementary schools.

UW–Madison student and O’Keeffe Middle School tutor Katherine Gormley says the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. One of the best parts is developing a relationship of trust with the students so they feel comfortable talking about their families and schoolwork.

“Although I may not drastically change a student’s life, the extra attention and support I provide goes a long way,” Gormley says. “Helping someone understand a math problem is also very rewarding. It always feels good to help relieve frustration and see the satisfaction of a student who finally ‘gets’ it.”

Paul Kamenski, another UW–Madison student tutoring at O’Keeffe, says he appreciates the feeling of giving back to the Madison community.

“So many children live harder lives than I can imagine, and to think that I can assist them in whatever little way I do is plenty rewarding,” he says.

To learn more, contact the Morgridge Center at vista@union.wisc.edu or 262-0731.