Want to get paid to tutor students? NC is looking for 200 people to help in schools.
North Carolina is recruiting 200 people to work in 18 school districts across the state, including Wake and Durham counties, to help students who’ve been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
The new North Carolina Education Corps is recruiting people who are willing to commit at least 10-15 hours a week for six months, starting in January, doing things like tutoring and mentoring students. Corps members will be paid at least $13.15 an hour to work either part time or full time and either remotely or in person in schools.
The “priority” application deadline is Sunday, although applications will be accepted through Dec. 7. Organizers will pick people in December to train them before they start working with the school districts in January.
“The pandemic has really stressed our ability to stay connected with individual students,” Eric Davis, chairman of the State Board of Education, said in an interview Friday. “We’re confident that the Education Corps will provide talented North Carolinians to support our teachers in connecting with our students and caring for their needs in the pandemic.”
The program is a joint project of the State Board of Education, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, American Ripples and local school districts. It was begun because of the learning struggles students have faced since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
All of the state’s public schools shut down for in-person instruction in March and switched to remote learning. Many school districts have resumed in-person instruction. But some students are getting no, or only limited, in-person instruction.
Schools across the state and nation have reported higher numbers of students failing classes compared to last year. For instance, 25% of Wake County middle school and high school students failed at least one class during the first quarter of this school year, up from 15% last school year.
“In tough times, North Carolinians pull together to help each other out and this pandemic is no different,” Cooper said in a news release Friday. “The North Carolina Education Corps gives people a wonderful opportunity to help in local public schools at a time when students and educators really need it.“
Seeking young, diverse members
The program is open to anyone who is at least 18 years old and who has at least a high school diploma.. Davis said North Carolinians of all ages should apply, including retired educators and retirees in general.
But college students and recent graduates experiencing financial strain or loss of employment are expected to be especially interested in the program. Davis, who hopes to continue the Corps past the pandemic, said the program could serve as a residency for people who are considering becoming educators.
The program is hoping to attract different groups, including people of color. This comes at a time when the majority of North Carolina public school students are from minority groups, but more than 80% of teachers are white.
“If the goal of this thing is to connect with students, the more we connect them with people who have similar life experiences, the greater the potential it will be lasting and stronger,” Davis said.
In addition to tutoring, other jobs could include providing technology support, helping school counselors and coordinating volunteers at schools.
Corps members who work in schools will have to follow the same safety guidelines required for people who are on campuses. This includes wearing a face mask, passing a daily temperature check and health screening and maintaining social distancing with students.
Districts receiving Corps members
These 18 districts are in the program’s initial group:
▪ Ashe County Schools
▪ Clinton City Schools
▪ Cumberland County Schools
▪ Durham Public Schools
▪ Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools
▪ Halifax County Schools
▪ Hickory City Schools
▪ Jones County Public Schools
▪ Lexington City Schools
▪ Mount Airy City Schools
▪ Newton-Conover City Schools
▪ Perquimans County Schools
▪ Person County Schools
▪ Pitt County Schools
▪ Stanly County Schools
▪ Vance County Schools
▪ Wake County Public School System
▪ Winston-Salem / Forsyth County Schools
Help for Wake elementary schools
Of the 200 positions, the Wake County school system will get 70 people and Durham Public Schools will get 20.
Wake County will use the positions in low performing and Title I elementary schools, according to Mike Chappell, the district’s senior director for talent acquisition. He said these newly hired school support specialists will work 30 hours a week providing in-person reading and math support to K-2 students.
Wake will pay the support specialists using coronavirus relief money provided by the governor’s office. Chappell said that, money permitting, Wake wants to continue working with the program next school year as well.
“We were pleased that we were accepted into the inaugural group,” Chappell said in an interview Friday. “We hope we can find 70 people and get them into the schools.”
Learn more
For more information on the N.C. Education Corps, including a link to an application, go to https://nceducationcorps.org.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 2:13 PM.
