Kindergarteners at Elkins Primary School will receive free tutoring while future teachers in the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville's College of Education and Health Professions will gain vital education experience through an initiative from Arkansas Tutoring Corps.
These UA-Fayetteville students began Master of Arts in Teaching or elementary teaching licensure programs this fall, and Elkins Primary School is a new school partner. The tutoring -- covered by the state -- is provided at no cost to the district, school or families, and in addition to tutoring, the college students will learn from on-site faculty and administrators, as well as engage in classroom observations.
Those at the primary school are "thrilled" to be part of this program, and school leaders view it as mutually beneficial to the school's students and the university's students, Nicky Anderson, Elkins Primary principal, said Wednesday. The partnership allows Elkins' students to receive "additional practice and support in literacy skills, while providing future teaching candidates the opportunity to experience in person what high-quality instructional practice looks like" in actual primary school classrooms.
"We put a great emphasis on all areas of learning at Elkins Primary," Anderson added. "Our hope is to provide valuable real-world experience to future teachers and the chance for our own students to grow even more with the additional support."
The Arkansas Department of Education's Arkansas Tutoring Corps was developed in accordance with legislative ACT 912 in 2021 to provide trained tutors for students in kindergarten through eighth grade in literacy and math, and there are more than 1,000 active tutors in the state, according to the university. UA-Fayetteville tutors received free reading curriculum and hands-on learning kits for their work, and they're paid stipends for tutoring reading during their practicum hours, as well as any outside tutoring in literacy and math they opt to contribute.
There are 84 candidates in the K-6 teaching licensure program conducting tutoring in conjunction with their Emergent Literacy course being held at Elkins Primary School, according to Shannon Magsam, director of communications for the College of Education & Health Professions.
"We have tailored the opportunity for our candidates, so they're equipped to be practitioners with real kids from day one of their program coursework," Kristi Mascher, program coordinator for UA-Fayetteville's Clinic for Literacy, said in a news release from the university. "Not only will this be an authentic learning opportunity for our candidates, but it will positively affect students in our area who would benefit from extra reading support."
Mascher is working alongside instructors Natalie Edwards and Wyann Stanton, as well as Lindsey Calhoun, Educational Renewal Zone director for the university, and Bonnie King, the program's coordinator for the Professional Development School initiative, according to the university. As part of the Professional Development School initiative -- Kirksey Middle School in Rogers joins Elkins Primary as a Professional Development School this fall -- UA-Fayetteville instructors deliver certain courses on site at area partner schools, integrating their clinical experiences.
"This definitely was a group effort to roll out," Mascher said in the news release. "We're so excited that our candidates and Elkins' students will benefit from the partnership."
Mascher and her team hope to expand this program to more schools and students in the future.
The university "is the largest higher education group to partner with Arkansas Tutoring Corps," Calhoun said in the news release. "Arkansas Tutoring Corps is also grateful that the university will assist with creating student assessments to monitor student growth and achievement."
Calhoun plans to use the partnership with UA-Fayetteville as a model to include students from other universities in the program, too.
"Over the last two years we have had 108 students participate," and the university "worked with me to lay out a solid plan of action on how Arkansas Tutoring Corps and the education program could partner together using their field experiences/practicums along with our model for high-dosage and high-impact tutoring services," she said Wednesday. "This year, I have used that information to approach other institutions, [and] I fully expect to partner with several other higher education institutions for the spring semester."