The Georgia Foundation for Public Education (GFPE) has awarded a prestigious innovation pilot grant to the Georgia Gwinnett College Foundation in support of math tutoring for elementary school students in need of targeted support. The Innovative Education Fund Prototype Grant was awarded over one year to pilot an innovative education program that “has the potential to impact student outcomes and transform teaching and learning practices at the school or district.”
Dr. Amber Ebert, assistant professor in science education and department chair of Secondary Education for Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), collaborated with GGC’s Advancement team to write the proposal in response to a need she saw while working with other grant-funded programs in the local community.
She said the grant proposal was singled out for the award because of the delivery of professional development onsite and the collaboration it encourages between the elementary school teachers and tutors from GGC.
“This math tutoring program is innovative because of the professional development component for the tutors, and the fact that it’s conducted onsite and directly before the tutoring happens,” she said. “There is a tremendous partnership and collaboration between our team and the school assistant principal, principal and teachers. Academic information is shared from the teachers – lessons, content, areas of need for students, curriculum being delivered in the classroom – so that tutoring isn’t stand-alone or ‘random,’ but rather exactly prescribed for the needs of the students.”
The $20,000 grant funds the program, which is being implemented at Alford Elementary School (AES) in Gwinnett County. The school was chosen based on a past collaboration with the school and principal and a data-driven need for added math support, as evidenced by test scores and past performance by students in math.
Dr. Bernadette Peiffer, a retired assistant professor in the School of…
Read the full article here
