Illinois Central College Named Partner in $25 Million Illinois Tutoring Initiative

East Peoria, IL (02/10/2022) — Illinois Central College has been named an Institutional Partner Office in the recently created Illinois Tutoring Initiative aimed at learning renewal following Covid-19 disruptions in local school districts over the past two years.

The $25 million program, launched by Illinois State University in partnership with the Governor's Office, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and the Illinois Community College Board, will provide tutoring for approximately 8,500 Illinois students during the two-year program.

The Tutoring Initiative is designed around strategic partnerships with local school districts that were disproportionately impacted by COVID with high percentages of low-income students and families, and that have low funding adequacy.

These local partnerships allow for a team of educators who best know each student to be involved in selecting students, scheduling tutoring sessions, selecting curricula and materials for the tutoring sessions to maintain consistency for each student.

"With all the lost instructional time due to COVID, the Illinois Tutoring Initiative is needed now more than ever. Building student learning skills and confidence are critical to obtaining credentials after high school graduation," said ICC Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Charles Swaim. "ICC is excited to build upon our partnerships with K-12 school districts in central Illinois because it is core to our mission of serving our communities."

The Tutoring Initiative is designed based on research and best practices for high-impact tutoring. Each student will participate in either individual or small group tutoring for at least three hours each week for periods of 8 weeks up to an entire semester.

The College of Education at ISU is coordinating the project along with the state agency team. ICC, along with institutional partners across the state including ISU, Governor's State University, Northern Illinois University, Southeastern Illinois Community College, and Southern Illinois University, will manage tutoring in their areas.

The tutors will consist of college students across the state, retired teachers, and community members. Non-profit organizations focused on youth and children will be targeted to assist with workforce development.

All tutors across the state will be trained via modules created by ISU faculty and staff. ISU will also develop and manage the tutor/tutee matching systems and serve as the data collection and research hub for the program. More information on the Illinois Tutoring Initiative can be found at https://www.isbe.net/Pages/ILTutoringInitiative.aspx

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Illinois Central College is a two-year community college with campuses in East Peoria, Peoria, and Pekin, Illinois providing a high-quality, affordable education to prepare students to enter the workforce or to transfer to a four-year college or university. For more information on ICC, visit icc.edu.

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