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Administered by the Illinois State Board of Education and the
Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Illinois Tutoring
Initiative program will team up school districts and
universities around the state.
Laurie Elish-Piper, dean of the College of Education at Northern
Illinois University, said priority will be given to school
districts most affected by the pandemic.
“So basically looking at things like the number of remote days
they had, looking at their funding, looking at the number of
students who are classified as low income, looking at all those
variables,” Elish-Piper said.
NIU was awarded $3.4 million to serve as the coordinating hub
for Region 2 in the northwest part of the state. Tutors hired by
NIU will focus on math and reading with children in third
through eighth grades.
Elish-Piper said qualified tutors can include candidates in
teacher licensure programs, allowing students to gain teaching
experience while in school.
“It will be a great opportunity for them to get additional
experience but also to get paid to be a tutor,” she said.
The tutoring opportunity is not just for college students.
Retired teachers, parents and community members are also
encouraged to apply. Training will be conducted via modules
created by Illinois State University faculty and staff. ISU will
manage the tutor matching system and serve as a hub for data
collection and research.
Funding for the program comes from the federal government’s
investment of nearly $8 billion in pandemic relief for Illinois
schools.
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