LAURINBURG — Governor Roy Cooper visited South Johnson Elementary School Tuesday morning to get a first-hand look at the high dosage tutoring program in action.
Cooper arrived at the school where he was greeted by school board members, Laurinburg Mayor Jim Willis, members of the Scotland County Board of County Commissioners, and several community stakeholders. Then Cooper was taken into a classroom where students were receiving the tutoring.
High dosage tutoring is defined as small groups of students receiving tutoring for 50 hours a semester by a teacher, paraprofessional, or trained volunteer. The tutoring sessions are embedded in the school day and focus on the student’s academic needs.
This is the first year that South Johnson Elementary School has been involved in the program, which the school focuses on reading improvement starting with kindergarten students.
South Johnson Elementary School principal Tonya McLean said, “100% of the students being served demonstrated growth in reading and 10% moved from below grade level at the beginning of the year to at grade level at the mid-year mark. We’re seeing a tremendous impact because of these efforts.”
Scotland County Schools superintendent Takeda LeGrand said this program wouldn’t be possible without Cooper’s support of public schools. The high dosage tutoring program finds its volunteers through community partners, which include St. Andrews University, UNC-Pembroke, Richmond Community College, and a network of retired educators.
In collaboration with the North Carolina State Board of Education, local school districts, and N.C. Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, Cooper launched the NC Education Corps program in 2020 to help respond to the impact of COVID-19 in schools. Governor Cooper recently directed additional federal funding to NC Education Corps to recruit, train and place tutors in North Carolina public schools and to plan for the possible expansion into math tutoring.
The NC Education Corps partners with public schools across the state to recruit and train members to support students and accelerate learning. There are nearly 200 NC Education Corps members working in 23 school districts across the state. Corps members are paid and work part-time. The NC Education Corps plans to recruit more tutors for the 2023 – 2024 school year.
“It lifted my spirits to see these tutors working with young children to help them improve their reading. This effort, the NC Education Corp, because we’re leveraging people from outside the school system who really want to help, in a concentrated effort to do the most important thing to make sure that our children can read. We need them more than ever,” Cooper said.
He noted that the pandemic highlighted challenges that were already in public schools. “We know that a lot of kids struggle with reading and the science of reading and the individual attention that you can provide, being able to figure out individual children who have issues themselves. This effort can help identify those things and bring them closer to success. Disasters help us find a better way to address challenges that are already there,” Cooper said.
The governor’s visit was a part of Teacher Appreciation Week and on Teacher Appreciation Day to celebrate North Carolina’s educators and highlight their impact on children and the state.