In the five years that she’s worked with the University of Chicago’s Neighborhood Schools Program (NSP), Bronzeville principal Mellodie Brown says that in addition to the increased academic performance and attendance boost she’s seen, NSP has helped her students open up.
“It's difficult for students to be vulnerable and share their experience as far as learning or how they’re feeling about school if they don’t trust the adult they are working with,” Brown says. “I think building a trusting relationship with an additional adult [like the NSP tutors] allows them to be more open and just say, ‘you know what, I don’t understand that, can you explain it to me or show me how to do it?’”
One of the University’s longest-standing community outreach programs, NSP provides direct education and enrichment to pre-K to 12th grade students in their local schools and communities, connecting University students with local schools and community sites as tutors, teaching assistants, or other support.
Brown, who leads Ludwig Van Beethoven Elementary School and won this year’s Sara Spurlark Excellence in Education Award from NSP, has long looked to the UChicago undergraduate and graduate students who work with her elementary schoolers to provide essential small group support. That added attention has been particularly helpful with pandemic-disrupted learning and with more reserved students who might not feel comfortable participating or asking questions in larger classroom settings, she says.
“[The tutors are] passionate about helping the students in our school community and they’re willing to assist wherever, whether it’s in the classroom or helping out in the main office or a service project,” Brown says. “It’s just a tremendous help for us and our school.”