Heart Math Tutoring provides the curriculum and manages the tutors, enabling volunteers to effectively help students without creating additional work for school staff on a day-to-day basis.

Program

Heart Math Tutoring (“HMT”) gives young students successful experiences in math through one-on-one, volunteer-delivered tutoring during the school day. Teachers and school leaders recommend students for the program who are performing 2-3 years below their grade level in math and may not have access to resources for private tutoring. We assesses each student to determine his/her individual instructional needs. Volunteers provide lessons at each student’s level in 30-minute tutoring sessions twice per week using Heart Tutoring’s structured curriculum. In addition to providing academic support, tutors act as mentors, providing encouragement that can have a positive impact on students’ confidence and enthusiasm towards academics. In 2019/20, we served nearly 1,200 students across 23 school partners in Charlotte, NC.

The program was fully virtual for the first time in the 2020/21 school year, serving over 500 students. We are offering both in-person and virtual tutoring options for the 2021/22 school year.

Volunteers are effective within a commitment of one hour per week because of Heart Math Tutoring’s curriculum and staff support.

Curriculum

• CMS-approved, Common Core-based
• Hands-on activities
• Internally developed, specifically for use by volunteers
• Targets foundational number sense skills needed for success in higher-level math
• Aligned with pre/post assessments adapted with permission from Kathy Richardson’s Assessing Math Concepts. Pre-assessments identify conceptual gaps of each individual student. Post-assessments measure student growth.

Program Coordinator  – Heart Math Tutoring provides a dedicated staff member to each school where it operates.

• Trains and coordinates volunteers
• Communicates with school staff
• Assesses and supports student progress throughout the year
• Supervises tutoring sessions (virtual or in-person)

Heart Math Tutoring operates in partnership with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS).

Designed Collaboratively with CMS:

• HMT was formed in partnership with CMS, who helped identify initial curriculum and assessment resources and paired the program with high-need schools and great principal leaders.
• CMS curriculum specialists continue to advise HMT on curricular resources, student selection, and organizational growth.
• We count on ideas from principals and school leaders for continuous program improvements, especially in the changing landscape and addition of virtual tutoring due to COVID-19.

Deep presence in partner schools:

• 50 students per school, grades 1 – 5
• Quarterly reports updating teachers and families on student progress
• Family education events prior to Winter Holiday Break and Summer Break
• Resources provided to help families support student learning, including take-home kits, newsletters, and a resource bank