2014-2015 FAMILY HANDBOOK
SMART Tutoring at Lincoln Park
2014-2015 PARENT INFORMATION
Tutoring Year
Welcome to SMART Tutoring! Tutoring begins September 29, 30 and October 1 with a “Kick-Off Week” beginning at 6:00pm and ending at 7:30pm. Parents are expected to attend this information session with their children. During the kick-off event, there will be a brief orientation to learn more about our tutoring program, including review of our schedule, routines, and expectations for students. Parents and children will then have a chance to meet their tutor for the 2014-2015 school year and enjoy a pizza dinner in their assigned classroom. Some students may know their tutor already, so this is a chance to get reacquainted. For everyone, it is an opportunity to share information and expectations for the tutoring year.
SMART tutoring between the tutor and child begins the week of October 6 - 8 from 6-7:30pm. During the first few tutoring sessions, we will focus on getting to know the child and his or her needs, as well as assessing them in Reading and Math using an Aimsweb assessment tool. Parents and tutors will receive a copy of the outcomes for their child/children to help determine “focus areas” to work on and guide instruction here at tutoring.
Please be aware of our Tutoring Chicago Calendar (found on page 10) and note holidays and breaks during the school year. Our Tutoring Year Calendar can also be found in full on our website www.tutoringchicago.org.
SMART Tutoring
Tutoring Chicago emphasizes several key content areas that complete what we call SMART Tutoring: Social Skills, Mathematics, Attitude/Attendance, Reading, and Technology. SMART Tutoring allows both student and tutors to concentrate on specific target areas to best improve individual and grade-level needs and expectations. (See Page 9 for additional SMART information).
Transportation
If your child rides the bus, please make sure that your child is aware of the exact pick up time. He or she should be waiting for the bus as it arrives. The bus cannot wait long for children, as we need to accommodate other stops and get to the tutoring center on time. The bus will leave the Center no later than 7:40pm each night and return the children to the same bus stops.
If you drive your child, you must park in the garage and walk them in/out. To get to the garage, turn behind the building on Webster and follow the underground parking. Buzz the door and come to the first floor lobby. Tutoring is on the third floor. Please plan to pick up your child in the first floor lobby at the end of the night. Please do not pick up your child on Halsted St. and expect them to walk out to you.
For public transportation, the Halsted bus drops off right at the corner in front of the building. Also, the Red Line has a nearby stop at Fullerton and the Brown Line at Armitage.
Communication
Communication among parents, teachers and volunteers is essential to a quality education. We encourage you to exchange contact information with your child’s tutor. You will fill out a Parent/Tutor Communication form. Also, inform your child’s teacher that he is in tutoring and ask how we can best help. Tutors are encouraged to contact you and your student on a regular basis.
Illnesses/Absences
If you know your child will be absent, you MUST contact the tutoring center and your child’s tutor. Call the center at 312-397-9119 or email Bradley Troast (). Please be aware of our Attendance Policy below:
· Students that enroll in our tutoring program make a commitment to Tutoring Chicago for the school year and are expected to attend tutoring on a regular, weekly basis.
· The tutoring year is divided into approximately three, ten-week periods. Those students with perfect attendance are rewarded at the end of each period.
· Tutoring Chicago will hold absent students accountable by taking the following actions:
- Tutoring Chicago will call the parent of any child who misses 2 consecutive sessions.
- A warning letter will be sent home after 3 consecutive, or 6 overall absences.
- Any child who misses 4 consecutive sessions, or 8 overall, will be dismissed from the program.
Website
www.tutoringchicago.org contains an up-to-date calendar (located under the “events” tab), general program information, and student applications. While it’s always being updated, it contains information that may assist you with our tutoring program. A pdf of the handbook is also on the site.
Social Media
Tutoring Chicago utilizes Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to connect with others through social media. Please “like” our page on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn to view reminders, fun facts, upcoming activities, and photos from our events.
Assignment Notebooks
Tutoring Chicago students are provided a free assignment notebook if needed. Assignment notebooks are a great organization tool for encouraging communication among teachers, parents, tutors, and students. Help your child best use this tool by checking the notebook and encouraging him to bring it back and forth to school, and to tutoring.
Enrollment – Space is Limited
If you know of anyone who may want to register their children in Tutoring Chicago, please send them to one of our registration sites or give them our phone number. Our student enrollment papers can also be found on our website at www.tutoringchicago.org should you need more. We can also be reached at 312-397-9119.
LIT Program
After four fantastic years, we are thrilled to be continuing our literacy intensive tutoring program for students in grades 1 – 4. Students must qualify to be enrolled in this program. Your child may also be in LIT which begins on October 27.
We are looking forward to a very successful tutoring year ahead! Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns you may have by calling our office at 312-397-9119.
Sincerely,
Erin McPartlin
Executive Director
Parent Drop Off & Pick Up Policy
Arrival:
Tutoring Chicago students should arrive by 6pm and check in on the third floor by picking up their nametag and wearing it during the entire tutoring session.
Given our limited amount of time with the students, Tutoring Chicago expects students to be on time and ready to begin. Late arrivals make it difficult for the child to adjust to the scheduled routine and his/her tutor may get reassigned a substitute (or he/she may leave altogether). A pattern of late arrivals will prompt a discussion with the parent and/or a removal of the student from our program.
Departure:
Tutoring ends at 7:30pm. At the end of the night, the tutor will bring the child to the lobby to meet the parent no later than 7:35pm. A parent or guardian should be waiting to meet the child and the tutor and briefly discuss the tutoring session and the child’s progress.
Following the close of tutoring, the building is locked up for the evening. Late pick-ups require additional staff and security hours and can be very frightening to a child left behind to wonder when parents are arriving, especially when their friends and tutors have gone home.
If your child normally rides the bus, but a parent or guardian plans to pick them up, Tutoring Chicago must receive a note or phone call to release the child to the parent (and vice versa).
Late Pick Up
Children need to be picked up by 7:35pm.
Staff will begin calling designated pick-up and emergency contacts beginning at 7:45pm if we have not heard from you.
Tutoring Chicago will call the police department to pick up your child if:
Ø By 8:00 pm we are unable to reach any designated contacts or have not received a call from any designated contacts,
Ø By 8:15pm, the parent/guardian has not picked up their child, even after repeated phone conversations.
We do not want to have to do this, so please make arrangements to be on time to pick up your child.
STUDENT PROCEDURES AND RULES
All students and tutors should carefully read and familiarize themselves with Tutoring Chicago’s Rules and Procedures. All students and parents will sign the Contract for Success (in Family Handbook) to demonstrate their understanding of the program’s expectations and consequences. Tutoring Chicago is a fun and safe place to learn and grow.
If a student violates these rules, he or she may be subject to suspension or expulsion from Tutoring Chicago.
1. Students are expected to attend tutoring each week. Parents should call 312-397-9119 if their child will be absent. Parents should also notify their child’s tutor of an absence.
2. Tutoring sessions begin at 6:00pm; therefore students should arrive for check in by 6pm. Students will not be allowed in the Tutoring Center before 5:50pm.
3. Tutoring sessions end at 7:30pm. Students must leave the Tutoring Center at 7:30pm either by bus or parent pick-up. Parents must pick up their children by 7:35pm.
4. All students must be registered with Tutoring Chicago. To be registered, a Tutoring Chicago application form must be completed and signed by a parent or guardian. Unregistered friends, siblings, relatives, etc. are not allowed in the Tutoring Center. (Children may pick up a form for a friend and invite them to attend the following week if we have openings.) Tutoring Chicago students may only attend on their assigned night.
5. Students are to check in on the 3rd floor and wait in the chairs until their tutor arrives or they are assigned a substitute tutor. Students must wear their nametag over their heart at all times during the tutoring session.
6. Students should take the center stairs. They are not allowed in the elevators.
7. Students are to stay with their tutors at all times during tutoring.
8. Students and tutors should use the materials provided by Tutoring Chicago. They should not use the materials already in the classrooms. These do not belong to Tutoring Chicago. Students are expected to clean their work area and return all materials to the correct areas at the end of the session.
9. Students may not take materials home from the Tutoring Center; however there is an opportunity to check out books.
10. Students must follow all rules of acceptable computer use posted in the lab.
11. Students should not wear baseball hats or dew rags in the building or on the bus.
12. Students are expected to show respect and cooperation with tutors, staff and other students. This includes working quietly so as not to disrupt others.
13. Students are expected to respect property, including tables, computers, books and supplies. Graffiti is forbidden.
14. Absolutely no fighting, rough play, teasing or foul language will be tolerated in the Tutoring Center or on the bus.
15. Weapons of any type should never come to the Tutoring Center or on the bus.
Use of Tutoring Center Space
Tutoring Chicago leases space from the St. Vincent de Paul Center. Our SMART tutoring program is housed on the third floor. Our Literacy Intensive Tutoring (LIT) is located on the second floor. We use the first floor lobby for enter and exit procedures. Use only the stairwell adjacent to the elevators.
Classrooms, Classroom Families, & Classroom Meetings
Each student is assigned to a classroom by grade level. Tutors and students must go to the classroom that they are assigned. Each classroom is considered a “Classroom Family.” This group should get to know each other and ask each other for help, if needed. Each “Family” is led by a room leader, often a veteran tutor. This volunteer hosts a Monthly Classroom Meeting to remind others of upcoming events, necessary paperwork, etc. Classroom Meetings will last from 6:15 – 6:25 the first week of every month. All students/tutors are expected to be in their assigned classroom during this time. Please let us know if there are any conflicts within the room (student issues, allergies, etc). We are happy to switch rooms if necessary.
Library Resource Room
Our library resource room contains Tutoring Chicago’s collection of leveled books. Books are organized in genre bins. Each book contains a colored dot and is labeled for its reading color.
Students may check out a book to keep in their folder or take home. Books must be checked out by completing the Book Checkout Sheet found in the Library Resource Room and returned before the end of the tutoring year.
Computer Lab
The computers in the lab belong to the St. Vincent de Paul Center, and we use them in the evenings. Tutoring Chicago also has laptops and iPads to check out during the tutoring session. The Internet is intended for educational use only and will be closely monitored by the tutor.
Room 351
Large events or gatherings will take place here on an occasional basis. Students and tutors should not use this room unless a special event is scheduled.
Restrooms
Each classroom has both a girls’ and boys’ restroom. There is also an additional (adult) restroom located in the west hallway, near Erin’s office.
Tutoring Chicago Policies
Snacks
· Tutoring Chicago will provide a healthy snack to students each week. Students should pick up their snack in the third floor lobby after retrieving their name tag.
· Allergies are listed on your child’s nametag and reprinted every week.
· Water fountains are located in each classroom and in the west hallway near Room 314.