SUNY Oneonta has joined an inaugural group of 26 colleges and universities pledging Federal Work-Study (FWS) funds to help K-12 schools close achievement gaps heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic, answering a call from the U.S. Department of Education to increase the number of college students employed as tutors, mentors, success coaches and in other roles that support school-aged children.
The initiative will advance the Department of Education’s work with AmeriCorps and Johns Hopkins University through the National Partnership for Student Success, which aims to help students and schools recover from the impacts of the pandemic and thrive by recruiting an additional 250,000 tutors and mentors over three years.
“As we continue to strengthen the role of higher education in preparing a citizenry and a workforce that can contribute to a safer, cleaner, healthier and more peaceful future, it is critical for our students to learn in the classroom, in the laboratories, in the studios and, now more than ever, in our communities,” said SUNY Oneonta President Alberto J.F. Cardelle. “The opportunity for our Work-Study students to learn by doing out in the communities strengthens both the educational mission, and our mission as a steward of place.”
FWS is a financial aid award that provides students the opportunity to earn spending money and gain valuable work experience while in school. Students work in on- and off-campus jobs and usually earn minimum wage. SUNY Oneonta has set an institutional goal of spending at least 15 percent of its FWS program allocation employing students in area schools and will work with community partners throughout the region to match students with opportunities.
Joining the national initiative is a natural fit for SUNY Oneonta. The university already has strong relationships with area school districts, which host student teachers, offer immersive, full-day field experiences and even paid substitute teaching opportunities to Oneonta students majoring in elementary and secondary education.
SUNY Oneonta also helped establish a Rural Education Collaborative that aims to bridge the divide between K-12 and higher education. In partnership with the Otsego Northern Catskills Board of Cooperative Educational Services (ONC BOCES) and the Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES (DCMO BOCES), SUNY Oneonta will work to create a Pathway to College program to decrease the college readiness gap among area students and a Rural Teaching Pathway to address the growing need for teachers and school administrators in the region.
The first cohort of colleges and universities pledging to support the National Partnership for Student Success includes institutions from eight states and the District of Columbia:
- AZ - Arizona State University
- DC - Howard University
- MD - Johns Hopkins University and Montgomery College
- MI - Grand Valley State University and the University of Michigan
- NY - New York University and 11 State University of New York (SUNY) campuses: Buffalo State, Binghamton University, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Cortland, Old Westbury, Oneonta, Onondaga Community College, Rockland, Tompkins Cortland Community College, Upstate and University at Albany
- OH - Rhodes State College
- TN - University of Memphis
- TX - Texas A&M University System campuses: Central Texas and Kingsville
- VA - Longwood University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech.