We work to repair the relationship between K-12 students and the education system.
Elevate Tutoring was founded in March 2011 with a model of helping two groups of students—our college student Tutor Fellows and middle/high school tutees—allowing the organization to maximize its impact on the community. The needs of Bay Area cities like Santa Clara, Oakland, and San Jose are high and require consistent aid from organizations like Elevate Tutoring, with the goal of creating systemic change in the education sector.
The K-12 Students We Serve
We work with schools and organizations who have at least a 75% free/reduced lunch student population. These socioeconomically-disadvantaged students often need extra support in their STEM courses, but cannot afford the necessary resources.
We know that those students who are successful in Algebra 1 are more likely to take higher level math courses, graduate from high school, and continue to attain academic success after high school. In fact, data shows that roughly 83% of students who complete their Algebra I and Geometry courses in high school enroll in college within two years of graduating. However, for those students who do not pass Algebra 1 and Geometry courses, only 36% attend college within two years of high school graduation.
Why Santa Clara County?
In Santa Clara County, 76% of high school graduates enrolled in college in 2018. A more complete breakdown reveals that while 82% of white students enrolled in college after graduating, only 62% of Latinx students enrolled. By pairing tutees with Elevate Tutor Fellows who look like them, our middle and high school tutees are able to see themselves on a path that includes college despite the socio-economic struggles they are currently facing.
While income inequality is a well-recorded problem in California, the Bay Area, in particular, has the state’s largest discrepancies. Bay Area residents on the higher end of the scale earn approximately $384,000 a year, compared to $32,000 per year for those on the lower end. As studies have shown, individuals with a Bachelor’s degree earn more than those without, which is why Elevate Tutoring supports each of our Tutor Fellows on their path to-and-through college to ensure graduation and a successful transition into their dream careers.
The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities — APLU
% of Students in Santa Clara County Who Are College-or-Career Ready in 2019
In Santa Clara County, only 60% of students were college-or-career ready in 2019. Specifically, while 64% of white students were college-or-career ready, only 38% of Latinx, and 39% of Black students were.
San Jose, CA is currently split, relatively evenly, among three race/ethnic groups: Asian or Pacific Islander, Latinx, and White at 36%, 32%, and 26%, respectively. Elevate Tutor Fellows are representative of their community, which has led to success in building rapport with tutees from the school sites they work with. As of Spring 2023, Elevate Tutor Fellows are 66.8% Latinx, 3.5% African American, 11.1% South-East Asian, 10.6% Asian, 3.0% Caucasian, and 2.5% other.
Why focus on STEM?
STEM courses often act as gatekeepers that ultimately prevent underserved students from earning a college degree, persevering through a STEM major, or graduating on time. In 2019, only 56% of eighth graders met or exceeded grade-level math standards in Santa Clara County. Within this, only 25% of Latinx and 31% of Black eighth graders met or exceeded grade-level math standards, compared with 69% of their white eighth grade counterparts.
At universities near Silicon Valley, the tech epicenter, there are great disparities between STEM degree-earners. In 2019, these universities saw 12,057 STEM degrees given to men, while only 7,507 STEM degrees were given to women. Additionally, Black and Hispanic students/workers are not evenly represented in STEM careers or in STEM degrees awarded. By working in underrepresented K-12 communities and empowering first-generation college students, Elevate Tutoring is helping these underrepresented groups to foster positive and successful relationships with STEM.
Sources: Silicon Valley Indicators
We provide first-gen college students with scholarships and external support
Our Tutor Fellows are first-gen college students who receive a scholarship for providing free STEM tutoring at our partner sites. Before entering the classroom, our Tutor Fellows go through an immersive training bootcamp in order to better understand how they can help the students they will be tutoring. We also provide wrap-around services for our Tutor Fellows including mental health & wellness counseling, career development workshops, and post-graduation assistance.
