By Ben Domaingue | December 12, 2024
Haverhill’s Cogswell Club Thursday night presented $75,000 to the Haverhill School Committee for Haverhill Promise to expand a tutoring program at John C. Tilton School.
The donation allows the program, which acts as a one-on-one literacy intervention strategy for first grade students, to support an additional 30 tutoring seats for one year.
Lisa Marzilli, representing the Cogswell Club, a group of local philanthropists, said “The pilot program did show over two weeks of reading progress for every one week in the program. So, you’re doubling their progress.” She called on the district to raise awareness and advocate for more funding for intervention programs.
“We recognize that the school district has finite funds and has made significant investments over the past few years. However, in addition to providing more funds for students to receive tutoring now, the Cogswell Club members are asking for more conversations and accountability with the School Committee about how we can work together to provide more resources and proven solutions,” she said.
She cited state data that shows that 77% of third grade students are either not meeting or partially meeting English Language Arts expectations. She said the rationale for the donation is the “status quo is unacceptable to everyone.”
Currently, 14 Tilton students have access to tutoring, with grant funding slated to more than triple existing seats. She said, “This tutoring program has the power to transform the academic trajectory of students who participate.”
As WHAV reported, Haverhill Promise partnered with the Haverhill Public Library in September after six years of working within the school department.
“I think we are uniquely positioned to be able to advocate and strengthen the work that’s being done. We know that it’s not just the schools who are going to make our students and families succeed, it’s all of us,” Haverhill Promise Director Jessica Kallin said. “So, we’re here as a collective and a community to try to make things better.”
Kallin said Haverhill Promise aims to “prove efficacy” with its program, noting that declining funding from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has reduced the number of seats.
“We know that this is worth investing in,” she said. “I think when we have a larger pilot, when we’re able to show that this is effective, I can then take it to scale it, like I’ve done with many of the other Haverhill Promise programs. I think that there’s a lot of opportunity especially as Haverhill Public Schools moves to a community schools model and is looking to advocate in the schools and out in the community.”
The Committee voted unanimously to accept the donation, with the City Council slated to officially accept the donation during next Tuesday’s meeting.