Frequently asked questions

Tutor

Partner

Donor

Tutor

Do I have to have a background in education to be a tutor?
You do not need to have a background in education. We recruit people from diverse backgrounds to become literacy tutors, providing them with a team of learning coaches who offer training, professional development, and ongoing support.
How do I apply?
How long does the application process take?
Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to be a corps member in a district?
Do corps members have input on their school placement?
Will I be assigned to one school or multiple schools?
What is the time commitment?
Will the schools be flexible with my schedule?
Are weekend hours an option? What about after-school hours? Does my availability need to be during the school day?
Am I going to be an employee at the school?
What can I expect from NC Education Corps and partner schools during my time with NC Education Corps?
NC Education Corps will support candidates throughout the recommendation process, and a recruitment team member will serve as the liaison between the district’s HR lead and the candidate. Once hired, corps members will be equipped with excellent training, networking opportunities, professional development, and ongoing support from an NCEC learning coach. Partner schools will hire and onboard corps members, compensate corps members, and provide day-to-day support.
What is the start date?
I don’t have a car. Is transportation provided?
What type of vetting do you do to ensure tutors are qualified?
What’s the expected schedule for the two weeks of training? In person or virtual?
We ask your school district to train you in the intervention or curriculum program they use to support students. We suggest to districts that you have the opportunity to observe in the school to get to know the teachers and school community prior to supporting students.

You will also have 20 hours of asynchronous (courses are online and self-paced) coursework designed by NCEC to support your initial understanding of foundational literacy and offer tips for tutoring in small groups, engaging students academically, and connecting with students personally.

Partner

How does partnering with North Carolina Education Corps (NCEC) work?
Public School Units (PSUs) partner with NCEC to assist teachers and widen the circle of support for students. NCEC helps recruit, educate, and activate corps members to provide quality academic support for a PSU’s students. PSUs hire corps members and pay for their time.

PSUs may use an array of public funds to compensate corps members. PSUs support corps members with site-based coordination and supervision, and with monthly coaching and development.
What is high-impact tutoring?
High-impact tutoring has been proven to provide significant learning gains for students in need. The National Student Support Accelerator led by the Annenberg Institute at Brown University has identified five program characteristics that have proven to accelerate learning, including:

Substantial tutoring time with multiple sessions per week, which includes access to tutoring delivered during the school day sessions that supplement, and do not replace, classroom instruction

Sustained and strong relationships between students and tutors

Close monitoring of student knowledge and skills

Alignment with school curriculum

Training and oversight of tutors to assure quality interactions
Who do we recruit to work as corps members?
Corps members come from diverse backgrounds and are typically university and community college students and recent graduates, adults who are active community volunteers, and retirees. Our diverse corps members are unified by a passion for helping students and a commitment to service.

All applicants are vetted through North Carolina Education Corps’ application process. Top applicants are recommended to PSUs and are then vetted a second time through a PSU’s hiring processes.
How do you find prospective corps members?
We leverage the extended NCEC network and work hand-in-hand with PSU liaisons to recruit corps members. NCEC creates a recruitment toolbox that includes social media graphics, email copy, job descriptions, PDFs, and a press release for each PSU partner and their key influencers. We use this, in collaboration with schools, to pitch media outlets, post on social channels, and send strategic email blasts. NCEC also invests in social media advertising and job posting sites.
What do corps members do specifically?
Corps members work directly with school-based reading coaches/specialists to administer tutoring sessions with K-5 students one-to-one or within small groups of no more than three. Tutoring sessions focus on foundational, research-based literacy skills, including phonics and phonemic awareness, and also reinforce literacy skills introduced by teachers. All tutoring is aligned with state-level standards and grounded in the science of reading and reading instruction.

Corps members work consistently with the same students over the course of a school year so that corps members can build strong relationships with students, modeling and nurturing effective behavioral skills and supporting academic growth.
How many hours do corps members work?
How are corps member schedules established?
How long will corps members work for our PSU?
Can I hire corps members after their year of service is completed?
What’s included in North Carolina Education Corps professional learning?
The cohort-based professional learning establishes our collective and individual “why” as we confront the needs of early literacy in NC. Each corps member receives pre-service and in-service professional development during their one-year commitment. Learning sessions build knowledge around high-impact tutoring, the science of reading, and the delivery of reading instruction with an emphasis on phonics and phonemic awareness. PSUs are asked to include corps members in complementary learning opportunities so corps members can effectively use the local resources and curriculum provided by school-based supervisors or reading specialists/coaches.
What funds can PSUs use to pay corps members?
What additional funding has North Carolina Education Corps secured?

Donor

Are you a 501(c)(3) non-profit?
Yes, we have been registered as a 501(c)(3) since 2022.
What impact is North Carolina Education Corps having on student learning?
Where can I donate?
Where can I find more information on sponsoring a school or an entire district?
Who currently funds North Carolina Education Corps?

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Frequently asked questions

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