Program Goals
Program Parameters
Program Overview
The Boston Public Library Online Tutoring Program is a three-year pilot
project that seeks to leverage the power of the Internet, and of the library's
new state-of-the-art network, to reach out to the local community in new
ways. The focus of this initial pilot: Boston-area middle school and high
school students who are in need of after- school assistance, particularly
in regards to preparing for the State-wide academic assessment tests (MCAS).
The Boston Public Library Online Tutoring Program is an extension of the
Library's award-winning Homework Assistance Program (HAP). HAP was recently
honored with the 1999 City Excellence Award in the category of Service
to Youth and reflects the Library's continued commitment to providing
quality educational and cultural experiences to the city's K-12 students.
This exciting new Internet initiative will enable participating students
to walk into library branches around the city, to sit down at computer
terminals, and to promptly connect, one-on-one, to university students
who are situated remotely (i.e. on computers at university computer labs
or on personal computers).
The potential impact of this program is significant for a several reasons:
- This program will help develop an important new channel for reaching
more students in need of academic assistance. This is particularly relevant
to the many students who currently don't get the help they need due
to the inconvenience and cost associated with finding a tutor, scheduling
time with a tutor, and arranging transportation to and from a tutor.
- This program will help bridge the so-called "digital divide"--the
degree to which computer and Internet access differs among the various
races and economic groups.
- This program will foster role-modeling and mentoring in the Boston
community. Not only can this help cultivate a greater sense of community
among the citizens of Boston but it holds the potential to significantly
impact the quality of the educational experience for hundreds, and eventually
thousands, of secondary school students.
The overall goal of this initial phase is twofold: 1) To establish the program as a viable and worthwhile resource for Boston area students in need of academic assistance and mentoring, and 2) To expand the capacity of The Boston Public Library to leverage its technology and to reach out to the community in new ways.
Successful implementation of this initial phase will also serve as a model for setting up similar programs in the future, both at the BPL as well as at other libraries and community centers around the country.
To ensure the overall success of this initial phase, our collective efforts will be specifically targeted at helping 8th grade students improve their performance on the MCAS tests conducted state-wide in May, 2000. The commitment of each and every one of the program's participating tutors to this goal will be critical.
Secondary objectives include the refinement of the online tutoring process and pedagogy. In other words, we expect to continue to learn a lot about how best to conduct an online tutoring session--i.e. which tools to use and when to use them.
This project is a three year pilot test. The target parameters for the initial semester are as follows:
The program intends to recruit from 25 to 50 college and university students who, in turn, will be trained to provide tutoring services to roughly 50 8th grade Boston Public School students. Each tutor will have 1 to 2 students.
Students will be tutored twice a week for 45 – 60 minutes per session. Content covered in these sessions will focus on the mathematics section of the MCAS tests, scheduled to be delivered to 8th grade students in May, 2000.
In each subsequent semester, the number of participating students and tutors will grow steadily, until, in year three, there are literally hundreds of participants. Participating students will range from grades 6-12, academic subjects covered will expand beyond the mathematics section of the MCAS tests, and participating tutors may also come from other demographic groups, such as accredited teachers, retired teachers, and/or professionals.
