Great Oaks Charter Schools opened their first school in Newark, NJ in 2011 and have since expanded to include schools in New York City, Bridgeport, and Wilmington. Their mission is to prepare students for college through high-dosage tutoring. They serve a predominantly low-income student population who are below grade level. Central to their model is the Tutor Corps, who provide 4-6 hours of daily small group and individual tutoring. For tutors interested in teaching, they offer a residency program with NYU to obtain certification and a Master's degree.

1. History & Mission: Our flagship school, Great Oaks - Newark, opened in 2011 in the Central Ward of
Newark, New Jersey. Our second school, Great Oaks - New York City opened in 2013 on the Lower East
Side of Manhattan. Great Oaks - Bridgeport
opened a year later in the East End of Bridge-
port Connecticut. Great Oaks - Wilmington will
open in downtown Wilmington Delaware in 2015.
The mission of our schools is to prepare
students for college success through high-dos-
Community Served: At scale, Great Oaks
Charter Schools serve students in Grades 6-12.
Across our network 83% of students are
eligible for free and reduced price lunch. 16.5%
receive Special Education services, and 27%
come from a home where a language other
than English is spoken. 62% are Black, 23%
are Latino, 14% are Mulitracial and 1% is
White. The majority of our students are two to
three years below grade level when they enroll
in our schools.
Our Model: Central to the Great Oaks model
is the Great Oaks Tutor Corps – a group of
recent college graduates who provide
high-dosage, daily tutoring to every student.
Tutor Corps members work full-time, providing
four to six hours of daily small-group and
individual instruction. A ‘tutorial period’ is
similar to a ‘class period’ in that it is embedded
into the regular school day schedule. Students
therefore have a mix of teacher-led instruction
(the traditional ‘class period’) and tutor-led
instruction (‘tutorial period’) every day.
Tutor Alumna Spotlight
Kalia Wright joined the Great Oaks Tutor Corps
because she was passionate about working with
students from underserved communities. In
addition to her tutoring responsibilities, Kalia
taught a civic engagement course, which helped
6th graders develop critical analysis, writing and
public speaking skills. Kalia currently serves as
the College Bound Coordinator at Legal Outreach
in New York City, where she uses skills honed at
Great Oaks on a daily basis.
www.greatoakscharter.org /gocschools

2. Teacher Residency: For those members
of the Tutor Corps who wish to become
classroom teachers, Great Oaks partners
with New York University to offers a program
that blends the inherent benefits of working
full-time as a tutor for a full year with the
benefits that a large graduate school of
education can offer. The first year of the
Teacher Residency program consists of
practical coursework taken while working
within a GO schools as a tutor, culminating
in initial certification as a classroom teacher.
In the second year, Residents are teaching
in either a charter or district school under an
experienced teacher mentor, during which
time they are working toward a Master’s
degrees in English Education from NYU.
7:30 am
Arrive and help with student
arrival procedures.
8:00 am
Tutor two (Group A) 6th
grade students in ELA.
8:55 am
Tutor three (Group B) 6th
grade students in Math.
9:50 am
Tutor original two (Group A)
6th grade students in Math.
10:45 am
One hour break for planning
time.
11:40 am
Help with student lunch.
12:15 pm
Lunch break.
1:10 pm
Tutor second group (Group
B) of 6th grade students in
ELA.
2:05 pm
Support third group (Group
C) of 6th grade students in
Math class.
3:00 pm
Planning time.
3:55 pm
Support third group (Group
C) of 6th grade student in
ELA class.
4:20 pm
Help with student dismissal.
Impacting the following communities:
• Bridgeport, CT
• Wilmington, DE
• Newark, NJ
• New York City, NY