Schulze Teaching Fellows

Literacy Kids

Schulze Teaching Fellows Partnership Program

Literacy Kids provides experience and funding to St. Thomas education majors as they work with children in Catholic elementary schools in need of extra support. Funding for the program is generously provided by the Richard M. Schulze Foundation. The Schulze Teaching Fellows tutors, who must be undergraduate University of St. Thomas students who are sophomore or junior education majors or minors with a GPA of 3.0 or above, are chosen for the program through a competitive application process.

There are two main objectives of the program:

Inspire children to become engaged readers and mathematicians through a free before/after-school literacy program
Provide Schulze Teaching Fellows the opportunity to enhance their development as future teachers

Contact

Dr. Liz Fogarty

Assistant Professor of Education

FOGA1755@stthomas.edu

Richard Schulze speaking at an on-campus event

Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation

Funding for the program is provided by the Richard M. Schulze Foundation. We appreciate the generosity of donors who are invested in impacting both young learners and future educators, helping them build literacy, math, and teaching skills, as well as compassion and confidence. The Schulze Teaching Fellows gain valuable skills and experience, providing a pipeline of future teachers for Twin Cities Catholic schools.

St. Thomas student helping elementary student in an elementary classroom

Making an Impact

In the 2023-2024 academic year, St. Peter Claver School served as the partner site. Ten Schulze Teaching Fellows were selected as Literacy Kids tutors and two as mathematics tutors. Prior to working with students, Literacy Kids tutors learned about the developmental progression of literacy in students in kindergarten through third grade. The fellows also learned about literacy assessments to better tailor their sessions to their students' needs.

Tutoring sessions for both literacy and math were conducted on site twice a week throughout the school year and included attention to phonological awareness, phonics, decoding, fluency, and comprehension. To measure the efficacy of the program, tutors conducted pre- and post-assessments to evaluate students' literacy and math skills improvement.

The Fellows themselves benefited from this program, developing confidence and experience and gaining skills in instruction, lesson planning, and behavior management.

Student Success in Literacy

St. Peter Claver students made incredible progress through the Literacy Kids tutoring program:

100%

100% of students made progress with sight words and in their fluency.

Of the 12 out of 22 students that were identified as not as proficient in the pre-program assessment, all 12 made progress toward proficiency in one or more areas.

All 11 second and third grade students increased their comprehension proficiency while reading at their grade level.

2023-24 Schulze Teaching Fellows

Ellie Barlow-Sager

"I have learned to take a step back and try to put myself in the students' shoes to be able to understand their level of learning in order to help them grow from where they started. I plan to apply this learning to future teaching experiences by reflecting on what I have learned and been through and apply to the students I will come across in the future."

Alia Muellerleile

"The most rewarding part of being a Schulze Teaching Fellow is watching my students grow their love of learning. I feel so blessed that I can be a part of their educational journal - to not only teach them, but encourage and uplift them. When we first started, my students were so eager to be done and go home. Now, my students are eager to keep reading!"

Grace Scott

"During my time as a Schulze Teaching Fellow, I gained valuable insights into the significance of fostering strong relationships with students and accommodating diverse learning styles. Building connections with students is paramount as it not only enhances the tutoring experience but also provides invaluable perspectives from a teaching standpoint. Moving forward, I am committed to continuously learning from my students and leveraging their feedback to refine myself both as an educator and as an individual. This ongoing process of growth and adaptation will enrich my teaching approach and contribute to my personal development."