WASHINGTON, DC (Jan.10th, 2024) –
Georgetown University’s DC Schools Project (DCSP) and CityTutor DC have continued their partnership to provide High-Impact Tutoring (HIT) for newcomer students during the 2023-24 school year.
Last school year, Georgetown students provided HIT for newcomer students in grades K-12. Georgetown also held a summer camp for 25 students with a partner organization in Brookland. Students received five hours a week of literacy tutoring this summer alongside plenty of outdoor play. The strong, caring relationships Georgetown tutors built with elementary students led to a joyful learning environment.
Jessica Lee, Assistant Director for Immigrant Justice Initiatives at the Center for Social Justice, Research, Teaching & Service, leads DCSP’s High-Impact Tutoring program and says, “In addition to language skills, our tutors created a sense of psychological safety for newcomer students knowing they had been traveling for months and were navigating a new country, culture, and school system.”
This year, Georgetown’s DCSP will continue HIT programs at Thomson Elementary School, Langley Elementary School, and Wheatley Education Campus, in student’s homes, and on hotel sites where migrant families are temporarily housed. With an ambitious goal of expanding service to 140 newcomer students this school year, Lee ensures Georgetown tutors are trained to be culturally-competent, effective tutors capable of building literacy skills and trusting relationships with migrant students who are new to District schools.
About Georgetown University’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, and Service
The Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching, and Service (CSJ) opened its doors in January 2001. The Center’s mission is that in order to advance justice and the common good, CSJ promotes and integrates community-based research, teaching and service by collaborating with diverse partners and communities. Through such critical and engaged work, Georgetown builds on its tradition of academic excellence and contributes in singular ways to the Jesuit ideal of justice education and action.
About The DC Schools Project
The DC Schools Project is an EngageDC program of the Center for Social Justice, and the program is supported by CSJ’s leadership team Andria K. Wisler, Ph.D. (Executive Director), Raymond Shiu, MA (Deputy Director), and Judith Perez Caro, Ph.D. (Director, Engaged Scholarship and Pedagogy). The DC Schools Project is led by Jessica Lee (Assistant Director, Immigrant Justice Initiatives). Combined, the CSJ leadership team and DC Schools Project professional staff have over 85 years of experience in youth development, tutoring, community engagement programming, immigrant community support and programming, assessment and evaluation, curriculum design, student development theory, program management, civic engagement, education, financial management, education equity, and classroom instruction.
About CityTutor DC
CityTutor DC is a coalition of 50+ schools, community organizations, and city leaders expanding access to high-impact tutoring for 10,000 students across DC. The CityTutor DC coalition is an initiative of CityBridge Education, a nonprofit that incubates the people, ideas, and conversations needed for equity-driven innovation in DC’s schools.