Each One Teach One, the university’s signature tutoring initiative that connects WUSTL tutors with area elementary and high school students, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month.
Founded in 2000 and coordinated by the Community Service Office, Each One Teach One supports more than 180 tutors through four programs: EOTO: Jump Start, EOTO: College Bound, EOTO: KIPP and EOTO: AP Prep.
All university undergraduate students, graduate and professional students, staff and faculty are eligible to tutor. Volunteers have the chance to make a big difference in the life of a young student.
“The impact on the students we serve is significant — not just for their academic success, but their personal and social development as well,” says senior Katherine Kerschen, coordinator of EOTO: KIPP.
“The service is not one-sided, however; the experience of tutoring deeply affects the WUSTL tutors as well, opening their eyes to the St. Louis community that exists beyond Washington University and prompting them to think deeper about educational inequality in general,” Kerschen says.
Local schools are very happy to have such motivated and engaging tutors.
“For the past two years, EOTO has been a driving force in the success of our students,” says Todd Williams, principal of Hamilton eMINTS Academy Community Education Full Service School in St. Louis. “The genuine excitement and scholarship provided by the excellent volunteer student-tutors is absolutely infectious.
“Our students are excited to learn and have documented educational gains as a result of the EOTO program,” Williams says. “Students who have consistently attended the EOTO program have increased their scores in math and reading. In addition, students who attend the EOTO program tend to have less disciplinary issues, attend school 93 percent of the time or better and complete homework assignments more regularly.”
The EOTO programs include:
- EOTO: Jump Start is a partnership with the Saint Louis Public Schools to support elementary school students at Hamilton and Ford elementary schools. Jump Start tutors volunteer at the schools from 3:30‐6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Bus transportation to the schools is provided.
- EOTO: College Bound is a partnership with College Bound, a St. Louis nonprofit that aims to give promising, motivated, underresourced high school students the academic capacity, social support and life skills necessary to succeed in a four‐year college. College Bound mentors work with students on Sundays at Lopata House on the Danforth Campus.
- EOTO: KIPP is a partnership with the KIPP: Inspire Academy, a charter school located in south St. Louis that serves underresourced youth. Tutoring occurs four days a week, with two tutors traveling to KIPP each Monday through Thursday afternoon. KIPP tutors are expected to make a weekly commitment for the full academic year, and transportation is available.
- EOTO: AP Prep is a partnership with the Saint Louis Public Schools to assist high school students in developing familiarity with the AP exam structure while serving as a source of encouragement and support throughout the exam preparation process. Tutors volunteer at a high school once a week for four weeks in the spring semester. Bus transportation to the schools provided.
“Each One Teach One’s 10th anniversary celebrates an enduring commitment to supporting academic success among underserved youth in our region,” says Stephanie Kurtzman, director of the Community Service Office and associate director of the Gephardt Institute for Public Service.
“We are proud of our dedicated tutors and student interns who offer their time and their heart weekly to these wonderful kids,” Kurtzman says. “And we are equally grateful to the Saint Louis Public Schools, College Bound and KIPP: Inspire Academy for their tireless support in sustaining these partnerships for years to come.”
Volunteers for the KIPP program are being sought for next academic year. The application deadline is Thursday, April 29.
For more information on EOTO or to volunteer as a tutor for any of the programs, visit communityservice.wustl.edu/eoto.