About Us
What We Do
SDRT is headquartered in the City Heights neighborhood of San Diego and currently meets on a weekly basis while school is in session. We meet in person on Tuesday and Thursday late afternoons/early evenings. We also facilitate off-campus field trips & extracurricular activities, and support our students with their essential needs.
Tutors work 1:1 with students of refugee background to help them with foundational English and math skills. Tutors also spend time reading with our students and playing educational games together. Returning tutors are encouraged to work with the same students for consistency.
TUTORS can easily join us and do not need any formal training in education or teaching. However, we do require that you attend a New Tutor Orientation before you begin tutoring. Find out more about our Orientations and how to register HERE.
WHO WE SUPPORT
San Diego Refugee Tutoring works with students of refugee background mostly from Ibarra Elementary and their siblings (preschool, middle school and high school). As our students grow and move up through the grades, we continue to support them along their academic journeys. Our students have lived in the United States anywhere from one month to 10+ years. They are Burmese/Karen/Karenni, Burundian, DR Congolese, Somali, Sudanese, Central African, Syrian, Haitian, and Afghans. Most of our students speak several languages other than English.
How We Got Started
In 2008, SDRT was formed out of a brainstorming session of teachers who saw the unmet needs of a growing refugee population in an eastern City Heights neighborhood of San Diego. Dealing with more than just an educational gap, teachers noticed a wide cultural gap that made it difficult for students of refugee background to keep up with their peers. Most students do not receive any additional instruction outside of school from someone who is fluent in English or assimilated to American culture since they often live in ethnic enclaves. Additionally, there are extremely limited after-school options for accessible tutoring or extracurricular activities.
When SDRT started, it focused on meeting the needs of the Ibarra Elementary School students (K-5th grade), their siblings, and their parents. As the parents began getting jobs, learning English and acquiring full schedules, the parents could no longer spend 90 minutes with us. Now, SDRT focuses mainly on the students and their siblings, who range in age from Pre-K to College and attend a variety of schools.
Our Volunteers
Volunteers come from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds, careers, cultures, and religions. On any given Tuesday and Thursday, SDRT has volunteers serving from various high schools, local community colleges and three major universities, local churches, and various friends and families from a plethora of workplaces. This is a unique volunteer opportunity that welcomes entire families to serve together. Volunteers are asked to commit to attending at least one tutoring session every week. This would be about a 7-month commitment, which includes Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring breaks that overlap with the school’s academic calendar. Please REGISTER HERE if you’d like to join us!
WHEN/WHERE
In-Person Tuesdays & Thursday at Ibarra Elementary School:
All Grades: 5:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
Ibarra Elementary School
4877 Orange Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105