East Austin College Prep Tutoring Program Awarded Grant

East Austin College Prep continues to garner support for its groundbreaking work with the children and families of East Austin. This week, in addition to winning a grant for its student counseling, the school also received a check for $9,711.22 from The Greater Tacoma Foundation for its innovative Prescriptive Tutoring Program.

The tutoring program is one aspect of what makes EAPrep unique and especially tailored to the success of students growing up in a community that, until EAPrep opened its doors, had no middle school since 1980. Such educational boundaries contributed to a generational cycle of poverty and educational underperformance, but today, EAPrep is in its third year of serving grades 6-8, and positively influencing the futures of students in East Austin through a rigorous college preparatory curriculum and out-of-the-box education strategies, such as the tutoring program.

What makes EAPrep tutoring program special is that tutors are paired with classroom teachers allowing for two qualified education professionals per classroom, as well as in-class tutoring rather than the traditional one-on-one model which often leaves kids feeling left behind. (EAPrep does offer one-on-one tutoring after school and during weekends to meet all student needs.)

EAPrep tutors are also regularly trained to work most effectively with the students and teacher they’re assigned and they work with the teachers to develop a portfolio for each student that includes test results, class work, reading samples, writing samples, art samples, and anecdotes on the student written by teachers and tutors.  These portfolios are an invaluable tool that follows the students throughout their time at EAPrep, helping to prepare them for college and their future careers.

As you might imagine, such a comprehensive tutoring program does not come cheap. (Annual costs are approximately $250,000.) Since, as a charter school, EAPrep doesn’t receive funding from the local tax authority, that means 25% less funding per student than a public school.  For this reason, East Austin College Prep is thrilled to receive the financial support from The Greater Tacoma Foundation.