Nearly 200 educators from Guilford County Schools (GCS) and UNC Greensboro graduate assistant tutors recently participated in the inaugural Tutoring Conference co-hosted by the Institute for Partnerships in Education (IPiE) and GCS.
Faith Freeman, IPiE co-director said, “This conference was a great opportunity for our graduate assistants representing all schools and colleges across campus to learn more about tutoring and how to support students, teachers, and school buildings. The energy was fantastic, and we appreciate being able to co-host this conference with Guilford County Schools.”
Those in attendance took part in sessions that focused on supporting tutors in using student data, working with English learners, building partnerships with universities, and logistical considerations of tutoring. They were also able to be part of a panel discussion which featured principals and curriculum facilitators that provided insight into how tutoring is being implemented throughout GCS.
Kara Hamilton, tutoring director in Guilford County Schools said, “The inaugural Tutoring Conference was the first of its kind to bring our teachers, schools, administrators, and tutors together to talk about our collective efforts in tutoring. This was a great space for us to come together and learn from each other; what others are doing and the ways they are doing it. We look forward to co-hosting this conference each year with IPiE.”
Along with tutors, attendees included central office staff, administrators, and teachers.
The Tutoring Collaborative (TC) was designed to recruit, train, and support full-time graduate students to serve as tutors for K-12 students in Guilford County Schools to provide high-impact, intentional tutoring. The TC is a program within IPiE that was developed in partnership with GCS. Tutors receive support through GCS and a Tutoring Collaborative coach during bi-weekly check-ins. To date, the TC has supported nearly 180 graduate assistants representing seven colleges and schools and over 25 departments across the UNCG campus to serve as tutors in GCS
IPiE was established in 2020 by the UNCG School of Education (SOE) and provides the necessary infrastructure and leadership to facilitate and support long-term partnerships between the SOE and education-related agencies (e.g., school districts, libraries, community organizations, etc.) across North Carolina and beyond.
The functions and goals of IPiE include actively working with local educational agencies to identify points of intersection between the pressing needs of the educational agencies and potential capacity of faculty and staff. IPiE connects faculty and staff with educational agencies to position them for timely partnerships as needs arise. The Institute also helps develop grants supporting partnership work and expand existing partnerships. This gives both undergraduate and graduate students additional opportunities to engage in experiential learning related to partnerships embedded in K-12 and associated community settings.
