Our Inspired Youth Tutoring Program

Available to all students in K-12, the Inspired Youth Tutoring Program provides individualized tutoring throughout the academic year. We primarily support students in subjects or assignments they desire assistance with, and after will shift to their most challenging subjects. We also work with students on skills like conflict resolution and self-confidence.

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Most of the children in the program attend Goudy Elementary School. Some of the children are referred by teachers at Goudy, but most hear about the program from friends. Many students from Goudy or the surrounding schools speak English as a second language or have recently found a home in the United States and settled in Chicago. We develop the children’s basic reading and math skills, supplement their classroom activities, and try to help create a safe community.

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Success

The leaders of our program have had over 20 years of experience, and we have observed children showing significant gains in schoolwork, basic skills, self-confidence, and attitudes toward their studies. Some improve faster in the standardized tests than the national rate.

• Five students who had all failed in school were promoted to gifted classes after 1-2 years in our program. One of them began school in all-Spanish first grade classes and was transferred to gifted all-English classes after only a year.

• One student went from 6 F's on his fifth grade report card to 1 F after 10 weeks with us.

• Another student initially hid under the table when she started coming to the Saturday program as a repeat first-grader, but passed into second grade after regular tutoring. At the end of second grade she scored above a fourth grade reading level on the Iowa Tests.

• A student's desk faced backward, toward the wall, at school. He refused to do math, refused to write, and could barely read. After a year in our program he began doing his schoolwork and was part of the class.