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

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

Craig Olson has tutored five students over his dozen or so years at Cluster Tutoring. But his technical expertise in keeping the program’s computers humming for student use is just as valuable as his work in academics. Craig is retired now, but he spent his last 12 years of employment as director of telecommunications for… Read More

Aisha Williams was so successful as a student at Cluster Tutoring that she earned a college scholarship and a degree from Northern Illinois University. She knew the best way to give something back was to become a tutor herself. When her daughter, Kyla, started kindergarten, Aisha enrolled her at Cluster Tutoring. After all, Cluster had… Read More

​Tutors and students are finding all kinds of new ways to connect remotely this fall. But tutor Maggie Boyaris and her student, Kevin, seem to have them all beat — they’ve met four times each week since Cluster Tutoring started in September. Maggie and Kevin started tutoring together in the summer of 2018, just after… Read More

Cluster Tutors owe a lot to Elissa Speizman, a veteran tutor who passed away on Jan. 8, for all the help she offered in setting up a program to help tutors teach math more effectively. Elissa made a generous donation to Cluster for the express purpose of helping students with math concepts, as many were… Read More

Cluster will sponsor two seminars for tutors in November. These seminars will help with students’ academic work and with students who may have been exposed to highly stressful experiences. Seminar for tutors of struggling readers. The purpose of the first seminar is to help tutors of young students who are having difficulty with reading. Reading… Read More

Judge Merrick Garland, who has been nominated by President-Elect Joe Biden to be the country’s next U.S. attorney general, has something he’s been doing besides sitting on the bench: Tutoring. Garland, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, is a long-time tutor at the J.O. Wilson Elementary School in Northeast… Read More

Starting in late September, Cluster Tutoring will be offered three evenings a week at three separate locations. And unlike the 2020-21 school year, tutoring will be in person at all three spaces. Cluster is adding a Monday night tutoring option at Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church in Oak Park. Fair Oaks, at 744 Fair Oaks Ave…. Read More