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MATCH Charter Public High School

MATCH Corps Program: The “No Excuses” High School Tutor - Tutoring Teenagers In High-Poverty Schools

Topics: Instructional Practices
At-risk Learners
Mission: The school’s mission is to help students achieve success in college and beyond.
Goals: 1. To inform schools nationally that it is important to train tutors to work effectively with at-risk students in high poverty schools 2. To provide a resource to assist schools in training tutors for work with at-risk students
Summary: The “No Excuses” High School Tutor: Tutoring Teenagers in High-Poverty Schools. MATCH Charter Public School has been recognized nationally for its MATCH Corps program, through which recent college grads provide high intensity tutoring to MATCH students. Tutors receive a modest living stipend and housing in a dorm on the top floor of the school in exchange for providing academic tutoring and support services to MATCH students. Through the program, students at MATCH each receive more than 300 hours of tutoring annually. Through this federally-funded dissemination project, MATCH Charter Public School documented successful practices and strategies used to train its MATCH Corps tutors. The handbook provides guidance on the role of student motivation, school culture, students’ baseline skill, the availability of materials and support, and the tutor ratio, as well as practical, step-by-step guidance on how to structure a tutoring session, build a relationship with and motivation among students, how to build knowledge and skills in students, how to make the tutorial time productive, and what it means to be a “no excuses” tutor. The handbook also discusses how to deal with confidential student issues, as well as revealing one’s one beliefs to the student.
Partner(s):
Dates: 01/01/2004
01/01/2005
Contact: Alan Safran, Executive Director (asafran@mathschool.org/617.232.0300)
Resources: The “No Excuses” High School Tutor: Tutoring Teenagers in High-Poverty Schools. Available online at www.matchschool.org/publications/Tutor_Guide_2006.pdf>/a>. Professional development sessions Presentations at national conferences
Federal Charter Schools Program Funds? Yes

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Last Updated: May 4, 2026

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