Sherman Oaks Students Could Get Paid By City To Tutor Siblings

LOS ANGELES, CA — Los Angeles students who tutor their siblings or other school-aged relatives can now get trained and paid to do it under a new city-financed program that began Monday.

The Student 2 Student Success prioritizes the needs of students who have been struggling academically during the pandemic and empowers their young relatives to help them. Namely, the program aims to help students who have had low grades, inconsistent attendance and missing or incomplete assignments during the 2020-21 school year. Their older family members and tutors contribute up to 120 paid hours — 100 hours of tutoring and 20 hours of job skills training, according to the city.

“The pandemic has been especially hard on young Angelenos, who faced so many disruptions to their lives and schooling,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti. “With Student 2 Student Success, we’re making sure younger students get the extra support they need, and providing our tutors with a chance to explore a future career in education or child care.”

The tutors must be low-income high school students under 25 years old who live in Los Angeles and have valid authorization to work in the U.S.

They also must be enrolled in a Los Angeles Unified School District Title I school, either traditional high school or alternative high school, including continuation school or an opportunity school for older students.

“The Student 2 Student program offers an opportunity to cultivate LA’s future teachers,” Said LA Economic and Workforce Development Department General Manager Carolyn Hull. “The pandemic robbed in-person learning for many of LA’s most vulnerable students and there is no replacement for that lost time. Allowing older students to tutor younger students is a step toward alleviating that learning loss, while giving them a sneak peek at life as an educator."

Virtual information sessions on how to apply for the program will be held on Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at bit.ly/3FS6sRC.

City News Service contributed to this report.