Tutoring in Toronto: An interactive discussion within our Community of Practice

Leaders from tutoring programs operating across Toronto joined Stephanie Dei, Director of Research Partnerships at the Diversity Institute, as part of the Tutoring in the time of COVID workshop to discuss their offerings and the importance of tutoring for students most affected by the educational disruptions wrought by the pandemic.

Aaron Smajda, Project Manager at the Diversity Institute, spoke about Study Buddy (opens in new window) . Established at the Diversity Institute in May 2020—in partnership with Ontario Tech University (external link, opens in new window) , the Jean Augustine Centre (external link, opens in new window) , and the Lifelong Leadership Institute (external link, opens in new window) —Study Buddy aims to support parents and students specifically from racialized and newcomer communities while also providing learning opportunities for teacher candidates.

Study Buddy has connected more than 180 tutors from five universities to more than 280 families and 430 students and facilitated over 5,000 hours of free, one-on-one tutoring support over the past year. Although students have now returned to the classroom, universities continue to refer teacher candidates to the Study Buddy program.

Results from surveys sent to participating families have been extremely encouraging, Smajda explained. For instance, 90% of parents reported that their children are more confident with school work as a result of their participation in the program. Additionally, 84% of parents reported that Study Buddy has contributed to a reduction in their own stress and anxiety.

Marcie Ponte, Executive Director at the Working Women Community Centre, spoke about the On Your Mark mentoring and tutoring program. The program has assisted over 3,700 students since its inception in 2001, and continues to serve over 200 students from more than 100 schools across different Toronto school boards. Ponte has heard relief from parents who otherwise would not be able to access tutoring programs but have been able to provide their children with tutoring support through On Your Mark.

Nandanee Sawh is the Vice-Principal at the Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. Sawh’s school is an area of the city that has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. In an effort to help students struggling to keep up, Marc Garneau Collegiate with the University of Toronto to connect secondary school students with those from the university for one-on-one tutoring. Sawh explained that her students benefited greatly from the individualized support they received as part of this program.

The beyond 3:30 (external link, opens in new window)  program facilitated by the Toronto Foundation for Student Success has provided almost 10,000 hours of free tutoring support to underserved students since 2009. Program Manager Sheldon Parkes spoke about how the program has extended learning opportunities and homework support to low-income families in 18 schools. Last year, over 70% of participating students improved their grades.

Panelists also discussed how they track and measure progress, the challenges their programs face, and the benefits for tutors involved in their work.

Hear more from our panelists (external link, opens in new window) 

This workshop is part of a larger project in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier University (external link, opens in new window) , the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) (external link, opens in new window)  at the University of Toronto and the Diversity Institute with funding from the Government of Canada’s Future Skills Centre (external link, opens in new window)  that aims to improve learning equity. It includes a suite of reports, an ecosystem mapping of community-based tutoring and academic support programs in Toronto, and a universal evaluation toolkit to support enhanced research.