Colleges in Action: Programs Employing College Students in P-12 Support Roles

Expanding to Support Pandemic Recovery

America Reads and America Counts at New York University

Program Overview: 

• Over the last 26 years, New York University’s America Reads/America Counts (AR/AC) program has been the largest AR/AC in the country, providing more than 2.9 million hours of literacy and math assistance to local New York City public elementary and middle schools. 
• Since its establishment in 1997, New York University’s AR/AC has employed more than 20,000 Federal Work-Study students to serve as public school tutors. Tutors in the program receive direct-service professional development and skills training, as well as opportunities for career-building and networking. 
• To help address the impacts of the pandemic, New York University is working to expand the existing program footprint from 850 tutors in 74 New York City public schools to include approximately 150 additional AR/AC tutors serving in 8-10 new Title I public schools in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the Bronx, and 2-4 nonprofit organizations and community centers throughout the city. 
• This expansion aims to reduce the effects caused by the interruption of in-person learning in New York City public schools, which further exacerbated the achievement gap between students from lower and higher income families.

Program Impact: 

• Each year, between 850-1000 NYU Federal Work-Study students participate in AR/AC by providing 8-20 hours per week of tutoring in one of 74 New York City public schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. 
• New York University AR/AC FWS students currently provide 5,000 hours per week of academic assistance to New York City public school K-8 students.
• The future expansion of this program will provide the community with up to 37,000 more tutoring hours, bringing the total tutoring hours up to 130,000 annually.