Bryn Mawr Tutoring Program Tradition Continues Post Pandemic

One of the longest running mission commitments of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church is our Tuesday Night Tutoring Program in partnership with the William Dick Elementary School in North Philadelphia. Launched over 50 years ago, the most essential part of this program remains the same – peer tutoring between Main Line high school students and elementary students from Philadelphia.

In March 2020, much like everything else in our world, the Tutoring Program was forced to shut down. While we weren’t able to transition the good one-on-one literacy work to an online format, funding was used to support teachers and students at the William Dick School with resources and supplies for the remainder of that school year and the 2020-2021 school year.

This past program year, the Tutoring Program was able to operate at full capacity with 40 students from Philadelphia working each Tuesday night with their tutors from more than six local high schools.

One of the greatest joys of the Tutoring Program today, in addition to watching the relationships grow between and among the students, is how the recent renovations to the Education Building make the program more welcoming and enjoyable for all participants. The newly-expanded fellowship space on the first floor allows students from William Dick to gather for a meal each week before they meet with their students. And a brightened and expanded Tutoring Library on the second floor is an encouraging space for students to explore books and reading resources together.

In the fall of 2021 the Tuesday Night Tutoring program resumed in-person programming at a reduced level to allow for social distancing.

If you are interested in your high school student volunteering with the program this fall, or if you are interested as an adult to be one of the essential volunteers who help make the program run smoothly each week, please reach out to Jackie Henisee, program director, at TutoringonTuesday@gmail.com.