Education alumna builds tutoring / mentoring service from the ground up

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pennsylvania – Kristina Hunter recalls when friends she made in her new church outside of Baltimore found out she was a teacher and asked if she was giving tutoring. “Yes, I can,” she said at the time, and once she has started she still stops.

The Philadelphia native, who completed Penn State College of Education’s integrated undergraduate graduate program in 2018, which awarded her a bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on language and literacy education, began in the city of Baltimore to teach public school system shortly after graduation. She was getting so many tutoring requests that it became overwhelming to combine tutoring with full-time teaching, so she stopped tutoring. But only temporarily.

When interest in her services persisted and the COVID-19 pandemic hit the academic world of youth not just in Baltimore but across the country, she said to herself, “You know what, I can make this an official matter.”

And so, Empowered Youth LLC was born. Hunter’s job in the Baltimore City public school system is the Chair of the IEP (Individualized Education Program) and oversees her school’s special education division. But she also coordinates mentors and tutors under the umbrella of Empowered Youth to empower and encourage students to achieve social, emotional and academic success through tutoring and mentoring.

Empowered Youth LLC is not a large organization. Students requesting tutoring and care services come from their church, family members’ friends, or in some cases students from their school. These students may have an autism spectrum disorder, specific learning disabilities, intellectual or physical disabilities, or sensory impairments.

“I also wanted to include mentoring as part of the program because some of my friends in my church are school therapists, school psychologists and PhD students and have expressed an interest in mentoring young women. That’s how it turned out, ”said Hunter. “In addition to tutoring, I wanted a mentoring program that focused on the social and emotional development of the students, and my fellow mentors could help me make this program possible.”

Hunter said the mentoring program is called Queens Guiding Queens. “We have about ten middle and high school girls,” she said. “Then I have four adult mentors, myself included, between the ages of 25 and 30. We meet with the girls every two weeks during the school year. At the moment we are taking a summer break, but from September we will have mentoring sessions twice a month from September to June. “

Topics discussed include goal setting, affirmations, self-care, and more. “Only things that happen in the world,” said Hunter. “We talked about the 2020 elections in November; We talked about the current racial climate in the US and everything that is relevant to their life. We also ask for your suggestions on what to talk about and some examples have been ‘relationships’ and ‘friendships’ so we are incorporating that into our curriculum. “

There are three tutors who cover reading, writing, and math from kindergarten through 8th grade. “I try to have at least two students per tutor. We had about six children whom we taught all year round. We were able to hold the students from August until now, ”she explained.

She said that they had success with these students too. “I had a student who was on the tutoring program and she was also on the mentoring program. It was great to see how she developed enough to meet her academic needs, ”said Hunter. “In general, it’s interesting to see how the students feel comfortable and willing to share more during the mentoring session, especially since we’re participating through Zoom and most of the girls have never met in person.

“In terms of academic progress, it has been really rewarding to see my students grow,” she added. “My other tutors love to see their students learn a skill that they worked on during tutoring sessions. It’s a great feeling to see their success as it has been a lot for me to teach on my own, but having two other tutors who are amazing in their work and have made progress with their students is an acknowledgment that we are are on the right track. ”

Hunter expects the number could rise if she successfully applies for the appropriate state and federal grants. Your tutors are paid; their mentors are not. “I need to do more research on how to write scholarships or maybe hire someone who can write scholarships because I want to take Empowered Youth to the next level because the only source of income is the tutoring program,” she said. “That limits our options both programs. “

The more growth, the more goals, Hunter said. “I see that we are opening tutoring centers to have special places for students to get their tutoring services and a room for bi-weekly mentoring sessions,” she said. “In addition to the tutoring centers, my other goal is to give our students the opportunity to travel across the United States to familiarize them with various cultural opportunities and experiences. The idea is to offer a well-rounded educational program. “

To provide training for others, Hunter draws on her years at Penn State. She moved from teaching special needs education to heading the special education department of her school.

“I definitely took part in the introductory course in special education with Dr. (Mary Catherine) Scheeler (Associate Professor Emeritus for Education / Special Education); She really helped us understand the history of special education, the characteristics of every disability and the IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) that is the foundation of special education, ”she said.

“I also draw from my experience as a student in the Altoona School District because I saw my mentor prepare and lead her IEP meetings. There is a difference in Pennsylvania where the special educators host IEP meetings; in Baltimore City, the special education teachers are just case managers. In my position as IEP Chairman, I moderate and ensure that my team is prepared for IEP meetings. I said to myself, ‘Oh, I can.’ “

The pandemic has put Hunter in a difficult position, especially since most of the schools in Baltimore City were closed from March 2020 to February 2021. The city’s school system had reopened in groups – a certain number of classes returned in February, more in March and until April everyone had the opportunity to return in person.

Combine that with her learning a new position and the need to still support her teachers and it irritated the serenity, she said.

“This experience required a lot of patience, willing to feel uncomfortable, not knowing what to do, and asking for help,” said Hunter. “The teachers came up to me and asked if they were doing things right and said, ‘What should I do?’ I tried to help, but sometimes I said, ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out.’

“That was new territory, especially when it came to the implementation of training courses and the provision of our services. In special education, that is what we do, we offer a service to students with disabilities and at the same time make sure that we adhere to the guidelines of the federal and state governments. I had to make sure my school was still compliant as we had to stick to the same schedules for holding meetings and taking exams. It was a very stressful year, but we made it! “

Hunter said her teacher training enabled her to feel confident teaching and to know when to ask for help and when to take initiative.

“The good thing (during the pandemic) was that I became more confident in my use of technology because it helped me stay very organized and systematic,” she said. “But the downside was that I didn’t see my students or everyday interactions with my school staff.”

Hunter leads a team of seven special educators. “Most of them are color teachers,” she said. “We were able to have vulnerable conversations about how they feel as teachers, people of color, and life in general. My goal is to create a space where everyone can be seen and heard, whether children or adults. That was up definitely important to set the tone for our special needs team.

“It is valuable (for students) to have this representation because it gives our color students a sense of identity and belonging. It also allows students to be comfortable in the classroom because they see someone who looks and feels like them, “OK, I don’t need to be guarded; I feel accepted. ‘ Having this person who understands you and understands what you are going through is vital because I have been to educational institutions where I had teachers and no teachers to talk to and identify with about racist situations. “

Hunter said she was able to overcome stressors caused by virtual teaching, dealing with the pandemic, her new role as chairwoman, and maintaining Empowered Youth LLC based on her beliefs.

“I knew it was something God wanted me to do to start a business and take the new job at my school. I rely on my strong sense of spirituality, and after receiving God’s approval, I had to follow my calling. Besides my work in schools, I believe that this will be my contribution to the life I touch in this world, ”said Hunter.