Community Partners: Frequently Asked Questions

These are answers to some of our most frequently asked questions for Community Partners

CELE Tutors are UW students who are enrolled in a community-engaged course. Courses include: EDUC 401, EDUC 260 and other EDUC, ECFS, and departmental courses, like psychology or sociology. Students gain academic credit for engaging in reflective learning in their academic course as they volunteer as a K-12 tutor in Seattle Public Schools and local organizations. 

CELE tutors are enrolled in classes related to education and receive credit for completing their tutoring commitment and engaging in reflective learning through their classes. Students take a weekly seminar focused on different education topics, and tutor at least 2-3 hours/week (at least 20 hours over the course of 9 weeks) in K-12 classrooms. Occasionally, students receive more credit by tutoring 40, 60 or even 80 hours over the course of a quarter.

The school/organization contact person matches UW tutors with a classroom, teacher or with specific K-12 student(s). We inform tutors that it takes the contact person anywhere from a couple days to one week to place them in a classroom. Because of the tight timeline students are on, it is very helpful for students to get placed as soon as possible so they have plenty of time to complete their tutoring hours.

We stress the importance of consistency in tutoring – we ask students to commit to a weekly tutoring schedule for at least one academic quarter. We do ask students to make a 2-quarter commitment if they can. Students are expected to tutor at least 2-3 hours/week. We ask tutors to let their classroom teacher or school/organization contact person know if they are unable to attend due to illness or other extenuating circumstances.

All CELE tutors receive an orientation on their first-day of class that covers topics including the role of tutors, tutoring tips and strategies, cultural competency, safety and liability issues, and how to get started tutoring. All students are enrolled in classes where they discuss tutoring experiences and how their experiences are related to equity issues in education.

CELE maintains an online list of current tutoring opportunities in local K-12 schools and community organizations. The listing includes the school/organization’s address, contact person and info, subject areas in need of tutors, days/times of the week tutors are needed, and bus directions to the school. CELE tutors will pick a school/organization they would like to tutor with and email or phone the school/organization contact person asking to be placed in a classroom. CELE tutors are asked to indicate subject area, grade level and days/times of interest.
 
CELE tutors may begin contacting you at the start of each academic quarter: late September/early October, early January and late March/early April.

UW Academic Calendar

CELE does not currently fund transportation to school sites. We provide bus directions to each school. Many students take the bus and some students drive their own vehicles. For a small number of schools that are difficult to reach by bus or train, we have Ucar carpools available.

No, UW tutors need to be working under the supervision of a school staff person at all times.

CELE EDUC and Community-Engaged Courses students are required to keep an online log of their hours spent tutoring.  Their classroom teacher or school contact person will be asked to verify their logged hours and answer a few short evaluative questions at the end of an academic quarter.

CELE currently runs background checks only for students registered in EDUC 260 and 401 classes. CELE does not run background checks for students in other EDUC, ECFS, or other departmental classes. Please consult with the Volunteer Services Program Administrator regarding your volunteers’ screening and placing CELE tutors.

1. Login at https://expo.uw.edu/expo/community_partner
2. Click on “All other non-UW users”. (In blue text, below the red button)
3. Log in with your username and password. (If you’ve forgotten them, click on “Forgot username/password”)