Healthy Cities Tutoring
Bridging the Education and Generation Gap
During the school year, multigenerational tutor pairs take up residence at school libraries and other educational hot spots around San Carlos. Teenaged to senior citizen tutors help young public school students navigate homework problems and connect on academic achievements. When San Carlos received the Healthy Cities Grant in 1997, citizens were tasked with creating a way for the community to engage across generations. Tutoring was the answer, and Healthy Cities Tutoring was formed, making this intergenerational scenario possible.
Weekly one-hour tutoring sessions can make a huge impact on students’ educational and life success. Tutoring increases students’ academic performance, school engagement, and self-esteem. “Our theory of change is around the idea that students who struggle in school don’t feel good about themselves in school,” says Healthy Cities Tutoring Executive Director Georganne Morin. “The more they’re engaged and the more they’re involved, their academic performance is going to go up.”
Initially, Healthy Cities Tutoring was administered by the City of San Carlos. Due to budget restraints, the program became a community-supported nonprofit organization in 2011. Between 2021 and 2023, the Community Foundation of San Carlos awarded Healthy Cities Tutoring $23,500 over three grants, helping the organization continue supporting academically struggling students. “Having a supporter in the community who knows us, believes in us, and trusts us is great! We are so fortunate to have that connection with and support from the Community Foundation of San Carlos,” says Morin.
When the program started, pairs would meet at school libraries right after class. Over the years, additional meeting spaces like the San Carlos Youth Center and public libraries have allowed scheduling flexibility and increased tutoring hours. In 2023, three hundred and eighty K-8th-grade students at nine San Carlos schools and five Redwood City schools met with three hundred and thirty tutors.
Tutors help students in lower grades with a variety of school work, while tutoring sessions for middle school students focus on single subjects: reading, writing, and math. Healthy Cities Tutoring’s new middle school math program helps students absorb and practice the math skills they need to succeed in high school-level math courses and beyond.
Healthy Cities Tutoring attracts a wide age range of tutors from 14 to 92 years old. The program is rebuilding its tutor base after the pandemic. Most working parents don’t have time to volunteer, so high schoolers and retired adults have stepped up. “For many of our seniors, it’s a way for them to have something on the calendar, something to get out to and connect with a young person,” says Morin. And teenagers get to learn important job skills like scheduling tutoring sessions during their busy day, while learning to work with people from different cultures, income levels, and learning abilities.
Many tutors stay with the program for several years because they develop relationships with their students and want to continue mentoring them. Healthy Cities Tutoring’s first tutor, Joyce Strauss, has volunteered with the program for over 25 years. Many more tutors have given five, ten, and fifteen years to San Carlos students. “We measure tutor satisfaction because if they’re feeling connected to the students, to the schools, to the community, that strengthens them personally. It also strengthens the community,” says Morin.
The tutoring service Healthy Cities Tutoring provides is an invaluable resource for teachers. When they see their students start to struggle, they can refer them to tutoring. If a student seems a little lost, it can snowball quickly into disengagement with the material and feeling isolated. A weekly check-in with a caring tutor might be all the encouragement a student needs to overcome challenges.
Healthy Cities Tutoring is always recruiting the next crop of tutors. Stop by their booth at community events to learn how to get involved in the schools. Tutors receive online or in-person training, are continually supported by staff, and communicate with their student’s teachers. Becoming a tutor is a great way to be involved with local public schools and support future generations one student at a time.
Learn more about Healthy Cities Tutoring and how to become a tutor.
$10,000 granted for providing tutoring to academically struggling K-8 students in San Carlos and Redwood City (Fall 2023).
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$7,500 granted on 11/26/2021 to provide General Operating support. (Fall 2021)
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$6000 granted on 6/15/2021 to provide General Operating Support to Healthy Cities Tutoring in support of students who are struggling in our local schools. (Spring 2021)