How Step Up Tutoring Was Created To Close The Education Gap for Students. Interview With Daniel Halper
Step Up Tutoring is a California based non-profit organization seeking to close the education gap, while developing enduring bonds and cultivating academic success through fun online learning activities. With the help of dedicated volunteers, we offer free online tutoring and mentoring for students grades 3-6 to improve student success in under-resourced communities.
Today, we’re going to chat with one of our founders, Daniel Halper, to learn more about Step Up Tutoring.
Q: But first, who’s on the Executive team, and what inspired you to start Step Up Tutoring?
Daniel: We have such a great team of educational leaders, tech executives, and experts. As a non-profit, our founders and volunteers are key to success.
Our Executive Director, Nati Rodriguez, has over 17 years of education related experience and as an edtech startup consultant.
Kara O’Toole, our Chief Operating Officer, also has a lot of experience in the EdTtech world as the previous head of operations for CollegeVine where she helped recruit over 700 remote educators!
As for me, I have years of experience as a direct educator working at Kipp Vida Elementary School, Wise Readers to Leaders, and Stanford’s Preschool Counts. But I also have experience at Ed Tech start ups.
We created Step Up Tutoring in direct response to the pandemic when we heard about the significant learning loss taking place in schools nationwide. We also heard about LAUSD’s initiative to get laptops into the hands of all students and WIFI to their homes. So not only was there a desperate need for online tutoring, but, with the expansion of computer-access, there was also a plausible way to implement the program.
Q: What’s the mission of Step Up Tutoring
Daniel: Our mission is to improve student success through academic support and mentorship in under-resourced communities. We work with students grades 3-6 right now, but we go beyond just homework help and support in Math and English. Our volunteers are really mentors for their students, helping them establish short-term and long-term goals, beyond grades. We form connections to help make learning a fun experience.
Q: Why did you partner with LAUSD?
Daniel: Los Angeles Unified School District is the second-largest district in the nation. Over 80% of the District’s student population qualifies for free or reduced lunch and the community is pretty under-resourced. Partnering with the district, we are able to work directly with schools to get access to the students in need of our support and with teachers to stay up-to-date on the students’ upcoming assignments and curriculum.
Q: How do you work with the teachers in the district?
Daniel: The buy in from our teachers is so important to student success, but of course we don’t want to add any additional burden to their already busy days. Teachers sign up students that are most in need, and we connect the students’ tutor and the teacher through Remind. Our tutors will report on the student progress and where teachers can notify them of upcoming assignments. We even can grant the tutors access to the teacher's learning management system so our tutors can stay up-to-date on the curriculum and homework.
Q: Talk a little but about the tutors:
Daniel: Our tutors are the backbone of what we do. They really love what they do, and they get so much out of the program personally as well. Our tutors are all volunteers- some have a teaching background, but experience isn’t required, since we hold training sessions and provide resources for them to use in their sessions. The volunteers commit to as little as 2 hours a week for a minimum of 3 months. Making an impact on a student's life is an incredible feeling- especially when you really get to see their progress throughout those months.
Q: What are some of the biggest accomplishments that Step Up Tutoring has achieved?
Daniel: In less than a year of operations, we’ve matched over 700 volunteer tutors and mentors to students, providing over 10,000 hours of mentoring. It’s pretty incredible if you think about the changes and improvement in student’s lives we have made from that.
Q: What’s next for Step Up Tutoring?
Daniel: We have a 5 year plan that expands beyond the pilot program in LAUSD. Ultimately, we want to provide free, online tutoring to all kids in California that are falling behind. Our immediate goal is to sign up 2,000 volunteers by May 2021 to meet growing demand for the program. We have big plans and are excited for what lies ahead!
Key Takeaways From Our Discussion
Step Up Tutoring is working to close the education gap for students by working with the teachers of LAUSD to create a holistic, fun, and individualized approach to learning for each student. We’re looking to reach 2000 volunteer tutors to help support growing student demand. You can apply to be a volunteer tutor here