Many charities and nonprofits seek donations this time of year. Here’s why a donation to Cluster Tutoring can make a real difference to a student’s life: At the end of the 2018-19 tutoring year, 80 percent of Cluster students had made progress in reading fluency, and over half improved their vocabulary skills. 65 percent of… Read More

The Chicago Public Library is inviting students to be creative over winter break. This year’s Winter Learning Challenge is called “Design Your World.” Students are invited to use their talents to read and express themselves in a variety of ways. “You can use art and design to express yourself, solve a problem, and inspire other… Read More

A new study confirms what many people volunteering as tutors and mentors already know: The practice of American adults mentoring children and teenagers unites people. The study, “The Power of Relationships: How and Why American Adults Step Up to Mentor the Nation’s Youth,” by the National Mentoring Partnership, gives a snapshot of who mentors, their… Read More

A Northwestern University graduate student has produced two videos about Cluster Tutoring that will air the week of July 14 on CAN TV, a local community cable channel. The videos feature an interview with Cluster Executive Director Kathryn McCabe and a video giving an overview of the program, which is featured below. Julie Woon, who… Read More

Tutors come to Cluster with varying degrees of knowledge about different school subjects. But some — especially those who have been away from a classroom for many years — find helping their students with math homework frustrating. That’s why we’re so lucky to have three talented volunteer math coaches. Whether your student is having difficulty… Read More

Vicki Schnure (left) and Cathy Kelso explain math concepts to 3rd-grade student Lakya and her tutor, Megan Midkoff. Cluster Tutoring is lucky to have two more math experts serving as volunteers. But they’re not just helping and coaching: Cathy Kelso developed a whole new curriculum for elementary-grade students. Last year was the first year tutors… Read More

An upcoming online workshop on Oct. 7 will demonstrate the links between the global backlash against immigrants and the practices of slavery and colonization. Benji Hart, a Chicago-based author, educator, and artist, will describe how the deportation machines in places like Israel, Mexico, and the United States share a lineage with the same systems that… Read More

What a way for students to give back to the community! Students at a suburban middle school wanted to raise money and donate those funds to a local group, and Cluster Tutoring is the grateful recipient. Nancy Thomas is a first-year tutor at Cluster. She also has taught English Language Arts at George Washington Middle… Read More

President Obama has nominated Judge Merrick Garland to be a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. But here’s something we bet you don’t know about the judge: He’s a tutor. Garland, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, has tutored at J.O. Wilson… Read More

If tutor Maggie Farren looks more like one of the Cluster Tutoring students than a tutor, there’s a good reason for that. Maggie is only 17 and a junior at Oak Park River Forest High School. But Maggie, who has three younger siblings, realized that she loves to work with younger kids. So last year,… Read More