Educate. Radiate. Elevate.: Empowering Underresourced Youth Through Quality Tutoring

Educate. Radiate. Elevate. (E.R.E.) is a vibrant nonprofit organization that passionately champions the educational futures of underserved youth. With a heartfelt commitment to helping students in grades 6-12 across Illinois and Texas, E.R.E. serves as a lifeline for those who need it most. Their approach isn’t just about hitting the books; it’s about igniting curiosity, nurturing confidence, and empowering young minds with the skills they need to navigate life’s challenges. Through personalized, no-cost tutoring led by dedicated tutors, E.R.E. transforms lives, ensuring every student feels seen, supported, and ready to soar.

Kars4Kids proudly provided a small grant to Educate. Radiate. Elevate. because of its outstanding commitment to serving underresourced children. The organization appeals to us not only for the caliber of its tutoring services but also for their decision to offer such vital resources free of charge. E.R.E. stands out as a beacon of hope for students who need the most support, making a significant impact on their educational journeys and contributing positively to their communities.

We put some questions to Educate. Radiate. Elevate. Founder and President Lindsey Wander to learn more about this work:

Kars4Kids: Tell us something about the kids you serve. What are their ages? Can you talk about your demographic?

Lindsey Wander: We provide no-cost tutoring to students in grades 6-12 who reside in IL or TX and receive free or reduced lunch at school.

Kars4Kids: You are the founder of Educate. Radiate. Elevate. What inspired you to create this nonprofit and why did you decide to offer your program free of charge?

Lindsey Wander: The pandemic highlighted the ongoing inequities that have existed in America for decades. Low-income students are among the hardest hit, resulting in long-term economic costs for local and national communities. I founded Educate. Radiate. Elevate. in response to pandemic school closures to help strengthen the educational achievement of underserved students by providing them with high-quality instruction from experienced tutors who will assist them with academics and test prep as well as essential learning and life skills. The mission of E.R.E. is to minimize the disproportionate learning losses for low-income students and to provide economic, social, and emotional stability for the youth served, their families, and their community. We do this by focusing on academics, social-emotional learning, and soft skills.

Kars4Kids: Your website speaks of “high-quality” tutoring. Can you talk about that? What is it that differentiates high-quality tutoring from plain old regular tutoring?

Lindsey Wander: Our high-quality tutoring involves professional and paid tutors with training and experience in teaching metacognition, executive functions, and interpersonal skills, as well as in culturally responsive and trauma-informed teaching. It also provides students with one-on-one tutoring with the tutor of their choice for the entire term, at days and times that are convenient for them, and geared towards addressing their individual needs (which includes personalized support for students with learning difficulties). The aim of our high-quality tutoring is to improve grades and scores, as well as motivation, confidence, independence, and mastery of underlying learning and life skills for long-term success.

Kars4Kids: What can you tell us about your culturally responsive and trauma-informed teaching course on Udemy?

Lindsey Wander: I worked with several professionals in the field to create our Culturally Responsive and Trauma-Informed Teaching course because there is nothing like it available to the public. Most similar courses talk about these concepts in theory but do not give practical strategies for how to actually implement these practices with students. The goal of this course, which is now available on Udemy, is to help create equitable and engaging learning environments for student success. These are simply good teaching practices that all educators should follow. Specifically, participants will learn:

• Cultural Competence: Develop an understanding of diverse cultural backgrounds to create inclusive learning environments.
• Trauma Sensitivity: Equip educators with the tools to recognize and respond to trauma-related challenges among students.
• Pedagogical Adaptations: Learn strategies for adapting teaching methods for various learning styles, cultural perspectives, and trauma-informed practices.
• Empathy and Connection: Cultivate empathetic teaching approaches to foster positive relationships with students and create a supportive classroom community.

Kars4Kids: How many tutors do you currently have and how many students? Do you pay your tutors? What sort of subjects do they cover with the kids? Are these strictly tutor-student relationships?

Lindsey Wander: We currently have 27 trained and onboarded tutors. To maintain the high-quality of our program, many of our tutors are paid, though many generously choose to volunteer without pay. Each tutor is able to teach multiple subjects and grade levels, making them more of “learning coaches” for their students. Before the term starts, the students and their parents tell us what subjects and tests they would like assistance with, and we provide options for tutors who can cover all of their needs. Our tutors are also trained in how to intertwine lessons in metacognition, executive functions, and interpersonal skills into their sessions – so that their students learn the soft skills for long-term success in the classroom and beyond. To date, we have provided a full 4-month term of tutoring to 61 students.

Kars4Kids: What about parental engagement? Is that a factor in what you do? Can you talk about this a bit?

Lindsey Wander: Our parents are involved throughout the term, providing insightful guidance about their child, helpful feedback about the tutoring sessions, and a summary of their experience. The information the parents provide allows us to tailor the sessions to their children and constantly improve the program to best fit their needs. We also invite the parents to be involved in other ways, such as attending our monthly Lifelong Learning workshops and joining our advisory committee.

Kars4Kids: Aside from learning the three r’s, what do students gain from participating in your programs?

Lindsey Wander: Our professional tutors focus on assisting the students with academics, enrichment, and test prep while also teaching them the underlying learning and life skills that will allow students to excel in all classes, in college, in their careers, and beyond. These include essential “soft skills” such as planning, prioritizing, creative problem-solving, innovation, advocacy, leadership, and emotional intelligence.

Specifically, our tutoring program focuses on helping students achieve gains in three domains that impact their likelihood of academic and life success:

• Academic Gains
  • Motivation and engagement in learning
  • Schoolwork completion and understanding
  • Increased grades and scores
• Social-Emotional Gains
  • Self-reflection, self-esteem, and confidence
  • Self-control, self-reliance, and adaptability
  • Communication, advocacy, and leadership
• Soft Skills Gains
  • Metacognition (i.e. learning HOW to best learn)
  • Executive functions (i.e. skills to manage daily life)
  • Interpersonal skills (i.e. personal attributes for success)

Kars4Kids: How do you measure progress and impact? What have you seen through the years?

Lindsey Wander: Pre-assessments are given to students and their parents/guardians to assess the students’ soft skills. These are online, age-appropriate, available in Spanish and English, are concise and easy to understand. Additionally, all students complete adaptive, standards-aligned online assessments to determine their current levels of mastery in the core subjects of Math, Language Arts, and Reading.

Throughout the program, tutors regularly provide the students and their parents/guardians with feedback regarding the student’s progress.

Upon completion of each term of their program, online post-assessments are given to the students and their parents/guardians to assess the student’s growth in soft skills. Additionally, all students complete an online post-assessment to measure their growth in math, language arts, and reading. The families also complete an exit survey to qualify the improvements they witnessed and their satisfaction with the program.

Approximately six months after the completion of the program, the students and their parents/guardians complete a review to assess how the students have been progressing. At this time, we connect them with additional resources as needed.

The positive impact of our program is clear. In just 4 months of tutoring, our students improve in their core subjects up to an average equivalent to 9.1 months of schooling, with some students improving up to the equivalent of 5.8 years. They also demonstrate measured improvements in soft skills, such as self-esteem, interpersonal relations, and emotional control, as well as decreases in negative behaviors, such as internalizing problems, somatization, and stress. Our students and their parents report growth beyond the data.

One student stated, “Some of the major accomplishments achieved as a result of tutoring are finishing and submitting my college applications and landing a fall internship with a tech company. [My tutor] has been so supportive and kind and has definitely helped improve my self-confidence and problem-solving skills. I have learned to reach out to the teacher if I have questions, use acronyms to memorize formulas for solving problems, and continue practicing what I’m struggling with.”

A parent stated, “[My son] is improving in all areas of school and his day-to-day life. He is able to read his sisters bedtime stories with little to no help. He is also able to initiate his schoolwork without awaiting assistance from peers/teachers. [My son] takes all opportunities to utilize his growing vocabulary and ability to read. His grades are improving vastly and he is able to navigate daily responsibilities on his own.”

Kars4Kids: Can you share a success story?

Lindsey Wander: We have so many! This 2-page Testimonials (Written & Videos) includes some of our favorites.

One of our 10th graders stated “I started with a 45% on my first PSAT and by the end of the program, I increased my score to 87%. Tutoring has made me more confident. The strategies I was taught will stay with me.” And one of our 12th graders stated, “Over the last few months in E.R.E.’s tutoring program, I’ve achieved some significant milestones. Academically, I’ve seen consistent improvements in my grades and improved study habits. Tutoring has also played a vital role in boosting my confidence and allowing me to actively engage in class discussions and presentations without hesitations. Beyond academics, I’ve developed valuable life skills such as problem-solving, communication, and organization, which have positively impacted my overall quality of life. I am confident the skills taught by E.R.E. and [my tutor] will continue to help me throughout my journey in university and life.”

Kars4Kids: What’s next for Educate. Radiate. Elevate.?

Lindsey Wander: In 2025, we aim to increase the number of students enrolled in our 4-month tutoring program to at least 21 students. Over the next 5 years, we plan to increase the number of students we serve to at least 85 per year. This growth is completely reliant upon funding received through donations and grants.

Some of our long-term goals include:

• 2026: Add the option for in-person tutoring in IL & TX for students in grades 6-12 and work with at least 35 students
• 2027: Add grades K-5 (with in-person as an option)
• 2028: Expand to a third state for grades 6-12 online
• 2029: Add the option for in-person tutoring for grades 6-12 in the 3rd state
• 2030: Add grades K-5 in the third state (with in-person as an option)