Tutoring Services Are you a parent who seeks support for a son or daughter who is struggling to learn to read or write? The Donald D. Durrell Reading and Writing Clinic (RWC) at Boston University’s School of Education brings together area literacy teachers and university faculty who share a common interest in bringing the best practices in literacy instruction to area children.
The Goal: The RWC provides diagnostic assessment and individualized tutoring to students in and around the Boston area, with a focus on helping elementary and
middle school students who are experiencing difficulty learning to read and write. Working collaboratively with parents, teachers, and school administrators, the RWC staff assesses each child’s strengths and needs and then implements appropriate research-based interventions.

Our Students:
The RWC serves students having a range of learning profiles: some struggle just a bit, while others experience severe reading and writing difficulty. Some are diagnosed as having specific special education needs while others are not eligible in their respective schools for special support services in reading and writing. Some do reasonably well in reading, but struggle in writing.

Assessment:
The RWC offers a collection of research-validated formal and informal assessments in the areas of motivation and interest, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, comprehension and writing to identify children’s instructional strengths and needs and to determine the instructional materials and strategies that will lead to improved reading and writing proficiency.

At the end of each term, tutors prepare a final report that documents the student's progress from beginning to end of tutoring. The report includes all assessment results and a description of the instructional strategies used, the texts read, and recommendations for continued progress. Parents and any school personnel involved in the child's instructional program are invited to attend a conference on the last day of the term to review and discuss the report.

Tutoring:
The RWC tutors are licensed, experienced, and highly-skilled literacy teachers. In addition to their work in the RWC, many work in area schools. In collaboration with the RWC faculty, tutors assess each student, and plan and implement individualized instruction within a one-on-one setting. In addition to using materials in the clinic, tutors work with parents, teachers, and administrators to obtain curricular materials that the student is currently using (or will be using) in the school setting. This combination of the RWC and school-based instructional materials contributes to the development of a tutoring plan that is congruent with school-based instruction and also matched to the student’s individual learning needs.

During each session, students participate in reading and writing activities specifically tailored to their needs and interests. Each day, activities address all six domains of literacy: motivation & engagement, word study (phonemic awareness and phonics), fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and writing (composition and spelling). In addition, particular focus is placed on teaching students how to become critical readers of web-based materials, including how to conduct a search, how to determine trustworthiness of information, and how to gather information from multiple sources.  As tutors work with their students, they carefully monitor performance and evaluate areas of strength and need.  Based upon their daily observations, tutors plan the next session’s activities and make any necessary adjustments to meet the evolving needs of the students.

Tuition:
(Scholarships Available)

Director:
Jeanne R. Paratore, Ed.D.
Associate Professor of Education,
Boston University School of Education

Associate Director:
Evelyn Ford-Connors, M.Ed.
Instructor, Advanced Doctoral Candidate
Boston University School of Education

Graduate Assistant:
Dana Robertson, M.Ed.
Advanced Doctoral Candidate
Boston University School of Education

To apply:
Download the application

Or  contact:
Evelyn Ford-Connors
617-358-0910
econnors@bu.edu

Location:
Boston University
School of Education
Two Silber Way
Boston, MA 02215