Who We Are
Dutchess-Orange Tutoring (DOT) for K-12 in Response to COVID-19 is a network of local undergrads and high school students in the Orange and Dutchess NY area providing virtual academic assistance to K-12 students in public districts in these counties while school is online or hybrid. DOT particularly seeks to help students who are at risk of being disproportionately affected by remote learning, including but not limited to students with parents who do not have the time to supplement their children’s new form of online learning, do not speak English as a first language, or do not otherwise have the ability to help their kids with their coursework. DOT also seeks to help students who typically rely on getting extra help from teachers outside of normal classroom help.
DOT is fully volunteer-based and is completely free (with the exception of suggested donations; read more below) to all students who sign up for the service. Since March 2020, DOT has had over 150 student sign-ups with over 100 tutors. Read more about our team here.
DOT will continue to offer services for the fall 2020 semester, with priority for schools with hybrid or fully remote learning models.
Started by a small group of undergrads in this area, its administrative team is working collaboratively with similar efforts across the nation, as well as seeking advice from local school administrations.
Our Mission
Our goal is to minimize the loss of learning due to COVID-19, especially that of students who will be disproportionately affected. We are seeking to prevent the exacerbation of local educational inequities by offering a resource for K-12 families and rising high school seniors looking for support during the college app process during this period of remote learning.
While we would love to be able to help everyone, the size of our current network limits us to serving students enrolled in public school districts in Orange and Dutchess Counties, NY.
Suggested donations
We realize many high school seniors may be seeking the unique mentorship and advice offered by our tutors, many of whom have recently graduated from the same high schools and gone off to top-tier universities.
Who do we expect to donate?
If you do not necessarily fit the demographic that DOT strives to serve (i.e. you have the financial means to seek other resources), but would still like to sign up with DOT, we suggest a donation rate of $15 per session, or as much as you are able. We do not ask you for any financial information and instead abide by the honor system so as to eliminate pressure from families who are currently unable to donate.
Why are we asking for donations?
At DOT, we believe in the transformative power of education and recognize the deep educational inequities that exist across the country, including in our own local communities.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, DOT seeks to address these exacerbated educational inequities on an individual basis, but we also recognize that these inequities exist regardless of the pandemic.
50% of all donations will go to The Education Trust , which utilizes advocacy, policy, and research to provide long term solutions for systemic educational inequities faced by communities of color or living in poverty.
The remaining 50% of donations will go to the Boys and Girls Club of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, which regularly provides programming in the academics, arts, and athletics for children in our local communities.
We hope you will join us in supporting the work of these important organizations. Thank you in advance for your generous donations!
We know this is a stressful time for many reasons, and homeschooling only adds to that burden. DOT particularly seeks to help students with parents who do not have the time to supplement their children’s new form of online learning, do not speak English as a first language, or do not otherwise have the ability to help their kids with their coursework. DOT also seeks to help students who typically rely on getting extra help from teachers outside of normal classroom help
Finally, we recognize that learning may be made more difficult as it transitions online, so we are here to provide additional help and guidance to supplement online curricula.
If you are a rising senior in high school and concerned about how to begin writing your college essay or navigating the college process (from financial aid to letters of rec to the college search) without normal access to your school guidance department, we are here for you! Read about our college prep services.
Read more about how tutoring works here.
If you are an undergraduate or high school student, we welcome you to join our tutoring network! We have currently had over 70 volunteer tutors on our team! Time commitment is truly as little or as much as you would like (generally only a few hours a week), and you can sign up to tutor only in the subjects you feel comfortable. We find that most tutors can be helpful to young kids just by acting as a source of encouragement and accountability. Learn more about being a tutor here.
We know these are some crazy times, and we're thankful that you've even taken the time to check out this endeavor. Join us in doing what we can for the local community while maintaining social distance!
Sign up here to be a tutor.
contact
If you have any questions, please email dutchessorangetutoring@gmail.com.
We will be in touch as soon as we can!
Visit us on Instagram @dotutoring or on our Facebook page.