Graduation Rates

The graduation rates in our community are among the lowest in the nation. Something must be done to improve this situation or our communities will continue to suffer.

In a study by Robert Holland released in 2002, five of the nation's 50 largest school districts had graduation rates below 50 percent. Cleveland was unchallenged for the cellar, with only 28 percent of its students completing high school. Cities with the next lowest graduation rates were Memphis (42 percent), Milwaukee (43 percent), Columbus (45 percent), and Chicago (47 percent).

In addition, Cleveland also had the lowest graduation rate among African-Americans (29 percent) and Latinos (26 percent). Milwaukee had the second lowest black graduation rate (34 percent).

Economic Poverty

Cleveland currently has a 23% poverty rate which is one of the highest poverty rates in the country. This can be directly attributed to the poor educational options available to Cleveland area residents. Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show that children who do not earn a high school diploma will have a much more difficult time breaking out of poverty. They will have lower median incomes, higher unemployment rates and higher healthcare risks due to being underinsured.

Conclusion

The research is clear. Our community needs high quality tutoring programs with proven results that can support the efforts of the schools districts, by providing students with the foundational skills they need to succeed in the classrooms. Our organization has successfully proven that we have a process that helps improve student’s core skills, their ability to make valuable contributions in the classroom, and get the results they need to successfully move their education to the college level.

We need your support so we can expand this program, open up more opportunities for students and continue make a significant impact in the communities we serve.

Process Overview

The ERC After-School Learning Centers currently provide services to students 6 days a week, 12 months a year, after school and on Saturdays. Students are assisted by tutors at the Learning Centers and as needed at their respective schools as identified by the school counselors and/or teachers. For this program:

• Math Tutoring Services will be offered to students in 3rd to 12th grade for one hour twice a week.
• Reading and Language Arts Services will be offered to students in grades K through 8 for one hour twice a week.
• ACT Test Preparation Services will be offered to students in grades 9 through 12 for one hour twice a week.

Program Objectives

• Our goal is to have 100% of the students from our program graduate from high school
• 80% go on to college
• 50% graduate from college with a math or science degree

Math Tutoring Program - Click here for the math tutoring program.

The objective of our Middle Grades Math program, which includes 3rd through 8th grade students, is to help our students build the solid foundation they need to be successful in any rigorous college preparatory high school math curriculum. We do this by having them complete our Middle Grades Math Curriculum which covers Basic Math and Pre-Algebra. To successfully pass our Middle Grades Program each student must demonstrate core skills mastery of our curriculum by passing our Basic Math Assessment with 80% or better and our Pre-Algebra Assessment with 80% or better. Currently, students who come to our middle grades math tutoring program consistently receive A’s and B’s in math and are at the top of their classes.

The objective of our College Math Preparation Program, which includes 9th through 12th grade students, is to help them master the skills they will need to have a successful college career. We do this by helping them master the core skills from Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry and Calculus AB/BC. We measure success in this program by focusing on the grades they receive in their high school classes. Currently, students who come to us for high school math tutoring improve their high school math scores by 2 letter grades in less than 3 months.

The objective of our “Can They Read” - Phonics and Fluency Program which covers grades K through 5, is to help our students develop the foundational decoding and read aloud skills they need to successfully move on to the next level of reading. Students who participate in our “Can They Read” programs improve their reading levels by 1 to 2 grade levels in 6 months.

The objective of our “Do They Understand What They’re Reading” - Vocabulary and Comprehension Program which covers grades 4 through 12, is to help our students develop the foundational vocabulary acquisition and cognitive thinking skills they need to be successful in rigorous high school literature, science and history classes. Students who participate in our Vocabulary and Comprehension Program improve their reading vocabulary by 1 to 2 grade levels and their reading comprehension skills by 1 to 2 grade levels in 6 months.

College Preparation Program

The objective of our College Preparation Program is to help High School students develop the core academic and study skills they need to successfully get into and graduate from college. This course helps students refresh and develop their math, and reading, grammar, writing and science skills they may have forgotten. In addition, the concepts covered in this unique program help students do well on their college entrance exams. Scoring well on these tests helps students improve their chances of getting accepted to a college of their choice and improve their ability to receive scholarships. Currently, student’s who enter our college prep program improve their ACT Test scores by 2 to 3 points.