Details of NYU's America Reads and Counts Program

Time Commitment

All tutoring is done in New York City public school classrooms during the school day (roughly 8:00AM - 3:00PM) and the school week, Monday-Friday. There is some work in afterschool programs (3:00 - 5:00PM), but there is no work on weekends or evenings.

Locations

The schools are all located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Most schools are close to the NYU Washington Square or Brooklyn campus. You can see where all the schools are by going to our website, but you may not request a specific school. You must go where you are assigned. 

Assignments and Orientation

We will give you a program orientation before you are sent to a school. When we send you to a school, the school principal or coordinator will assign you to a classroom teacher (or teachers) to work with.

Scheduling

Working with your classroom teacher, you can make your own schedule to accommodate your NYU class schedule. That is, you can work at any time that suits you and your teacher, within these parameters: a). You must work a minimum of 8 hours a week, during the school day (8:00AM - 3:00PM). We will not take into consideration after-school hours when hiring you. b) You must work at least 2 days per week in your school. c) You must work in blocks of no less than 2 hours. There is no daily maximum. You can work as many hours in a day as you have available and your teacher/school will agree. There is a weekly maximum of 20 hours. d) Once you agree on a schedule, we expect you to keep that schedule, but we understand if tutors must at times miss work due to illness, academic work, etc.

Supervision and Work

Your work will always be done in the presence of, and under the direction and supervision of, a classroom teacher or other school employee. Your work will vary -- you may, at times, work one-on-one with a student; you may work with small groups; you may work with large groups. Your work will be academic in nature. Although you may be asked to perform occasional clerical or housekeeping tasks (making copies, straightening the room, etc.), the majority of your time will be helping students with their academic needs. If a teacher is asking you to do things that are not academic in nature, we will assist you in correcting that situation.

Time Off

Tutors are not required to serve when NYU is not in session or during final exams. Additionally, you should not report to work if you are sick. We expect you to inform your teacher beforehand about your expected absence.

Payment

You are paid for the time you work with children, either in the classroom, in the lunchroom or on the playground, or the time you spend with your teacher or other teachers in your school receiving training, planning lessons, etc. The teacher will supervise your work, tell you what to do, which students to work with, etc. You will do a variety of things: work one-on-one with children; work with small and large groups, etc. You do not need any specialized training. You are not paid for travel time and are not paid for lunch or break time that is not spent with teachers or students.

You will be paid $18 per hour (undergraduates) Or $23 per hour (graduate students). You will be paid every 2 weeks based on the timesheet you submit that is verified by your cooperating teacher.

After-School Programs

Some schools have after-school programs from 3:00 - 5:00 PM, although not every school has them every day. In order to work during after-school hours, you must work the 8-hour minimum during the normal school day. You may not complete your 8-hour schedule by adding after-school hours. 

Graduate Students

If you are a graduate student, you may be asked to send us some brief observations about how things are going in your school. And there may be an optional meeting or two for you to attend. If we want you to submit observations or attend a meeting, we will let you know.

Start Date

You can begin work shortly after you are oriented, and must begin work within two weeks of receiving your school assignment. You can work until you exhaust your Federal Work Study allowance. The average annual FWS allowance at NYU is $3,000. For most people, this means you will have the job for the entire year. However, if you work more (as many students do) you could earn the full amount sooner; if you work less, you may not earn all of your FWS. When America Reads tutors exhaust their FWS allotment, the Office of Financial Aid will often, but not always, grant more aid. This is a request you must make directly.

Transferring Schools

You will stay at the same school for both semesters (or until you run out of money). You can request a different school in subsequent years. You can work in this program as long as you are an NYU student with a Federal Work Study allotment and your work is satisfactory.