America Counts: TU gives Baltimore students confidence in math

Through America Counts program, TU students are helping Baltimore City middle schoolers gain confidence with math

By Kyle Hobstetter on March 15, 2019

TU students part of the America Counts program
Towson University students help Baltimore City Public School students with mathematics as part of the America Counts program. 

For over a decade, Towson University students have given back to Baltimore City Public Schools through the America Counts Program

America Counts is a math-tutoring program that enables TU students to work one-on-one with Baltimore City middle school students at four sites in the fall, with a fifth added this semester. 

Along with being a regular volunteer opportunity, TU students can apply to America Counts as part of Federal Work Study, Volunteering is open to all interested students.

Sponsored by the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility [BROKEN LINK]and the Department of Mathematics, America Counts is also in its second year as an AmeriCorps VISTA Project. 

The AmeriCorps VISTA program provides opportunities for volunteers to take part in a project aimed at alleviating poverty. Johann Umali, the AmeriCorps VISTA for America Counts, says he was excited to be working with the program after hearing the positive feedback from TU student volunteers. 

“One consistent thing our returners talk about was the relationships they build with the students,” Umali says. One said his students don’t just look at him as a tutor—they look at him as a mentor as well.”   

During the fall 2018 semester, TU had a team of 30 tutors working with 40  students. At the end of the semester they’d contributed a combined total of 311 tutoring hours at Guilford Elementary/Middle School, Fallstaff Elementary/Middle School, Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School and the Department of Juvenile Services.

“This is a way that our students can commit to a whole semester of services, and it’s consistent,” says Stephanie Easterday, TU assistant director for community engagement. “They are out serving the community, getting to know folks, serving as  mentors and building those professional skills.”  

As TU tutors hone their skills, students see improved grades as well as improved attitudes toward math.

According to Umali, site supervisors from the school have seen students improve their mathematics skills, increase their confidence with mathematics problems and get more enjoyment when working on mathematics assignments. 

“Something I enjoyed last semester was talking to the site supervisors and hearing how much students have grown,” Umail says. “The teacher noticed that students who work with tutors were stepping out of their comfort zones.” 

Following the success of America Counts in helping students with mathematics, several sites asked if tutors could help with reading comprehension. 

In response, TU and AmeriCorps started a pilot program called America Reads. Teaming with Baltimore’s chapter of Reading Partners, a children’s literacy nonprofit, America Reads will have TU student-tutors working one-on-one with students on reading skill and comprehension.

After finishing the pilot program in the spring, the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility is hoping to continue to build both America Reads and American Counts through the help of the AmeriCorps VISTAs. 

“Having an AmeriCorps VISTA in our office working with this program has really allowed us to take this next step,” Easterday says. “It really shows that TU is committed to this program, offering these opportunities to our students, and being a contributing member in our community.”

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: TU Matters to Maryland.