WILMINGTON — Thousands of dollars from telecommunications company AT&T have been dedicated to UNCW’s Betty Holden Stike Education Labratory program.
The after-school service provides virtual tutoring to K-5 students in underserved communities of North Carolina’s Southeast. The program connects students with high-speed internet, lesson materials and tutoring that enhances digital literacy and learning outcomes.
AT&T provided $40,000 to UNCW’s Watson College of Education for the endeavor.
UNCW Watson College of Education’s Stike Ed Lab is partnering with NC Project LEAD and the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina on the project.
Watson students, many of whom are studying to be teachers, will become one-on-one tutors for 40 children in four partner organization facilities. Tutoring sessions will be held twice a week for 15 weeks, beginning in January. Partner coordinators will be on-site to assist children with accessing virtual tutoring and facilitating communication with online tutors.
“The Watson College of Education has provided on-campus tutoring support for children for decades,” Watson College Interim Dean Carol McNulty said in a press release. “During Covid school closures, our Ed Lab team successfully transitioned to a fully online learning environment. This generous gift from AT&T will allow Watson’s Ed Lab team to apply what they learned during the pandemic about high-quality, one-to-one virtual teaching and provide valuable learning opportunities for students from rural communities who would not regularly have access to our physical Ed Lab locations.”
Virtual tutoring will be offered at the Boys & Girls Club Community Campus in downtown Wilmington and at Project LEAD facilities at Cedar Grove Improvement Association Center (Brunswick) and Mt. Calvary AME Church, Navassa (Brunswick), and ZECA School of Arts and Technology after-school program in Jacksonville (Onslow).
“We are proud to support the UNCW Watson College of Education Stike Ed Lab, NC Project LEAD and the Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina to help enhance learning opportunities and outcomes for local students,” Joey Nelson, Regional Director of External Affairs, AT&T North Carolina, said in a press release. “Through this collaboration, we are equipping students and future teachers with the digital skills, tools and resources they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.”
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