Tutoring & Mentoring

Save to Favorites

One of the central focuses of ConnectiKids programming is the Tutorial Program. One day each week for 75 minutes, students meet individually with a tutor from one of nine sponsoring organizations. Tutors usually use a portion of this time to help his/her student complete his/her homework and/or complete the lesson plans we provide on a weekly basis. Each lesson plan is a packet of activities based off of Connecticut’s current academic standards. Through a generous grant/donation from Barnes and Nobles hundreds of books are available at each site to be used by students and their tutors as well. At the end of each tutoring year each student gets a book to take home to add to their personal libraries. Currently Aetna, The Hartford, Asylum Hill Congregational Church, West Middle Community School, North West Catholic High School, Saint Joseph College, Trinity College, Avon High School at West Middle Elementary School, University of Connecticut, and the State Office Complex at 470 Capitol Avenue act as host sites for the ConnectiKids Tutoring/Mentoring program. Employees, students, and community members serve as tutors at these sites. Bringing children to the sites for tutoring allows them to be exposed to career choices and utilizes neighborhood resources they would otherwise not have access to. Conducting tutoring on-site in work settings also gives hundreds of people the opportunity of volunteering who otherwise could not due to limited time. The other central focus of our program is mentoring. Although there are students who need a tutor, there are a large number of students who would benefit greatly from a mentor. According to the Oregon National Guard Youth Challenge Program, "a mentor is a person or friend who guides a less experienced person by building trust and modeling positive behaviors. An effective mentor understands that his or her role is to be dependable, engaged, authentic, and tuned into the needs of the mentee." This is something to keep in mind on a weekly basis as you meet with your mentee. Not each session will be about homework and academics but can be spent talking about your mentee’s day, answering questions they may have or talking about life in general. Please be prepared to be flexible because kids are usually mentally and physically active; especially after school.