Community Engagement and Public Service Activities

The Math Counts! Tutoring program grew from the success of the 2015 K-12 Summer Tutoring program, which was developed by Honors student Katelyn Brown and the Center for Service-Learning, in response to numerous requests from parents in the community.  It was clear that the greatest need was for math tutoring, and after the summer program, parents and school personnel began requesting help from our math tutors during the school year. Thanks to a Chancellor’s Innovation grant we began the Math Counts! Tutoring Program in February 2016. Since then, we have received two generous Stamm-Koechlein Family Foundation (SKFF) grants to continue Math Counts! year-round, on the IU East campus, at area schools, and at after-school programs. The name of this program changed to K-12 Tutoring and continues to be supported by SKFF.

Both in-person and virtual sessions continue through Spring 2023, Mon - Thursdays, 4-6 pm.

This project was created as a result of funding from the Chancellor's Community Engagement Course Development Grant. It was focused on showing criminal justice students the impact of addiction within a local context. It was centrally focused in Wayne County, but also reached out to Union County and Fayette County. We worked to serve our community partner on a weekly basis, and we worked as peer leaders in support and recovery services. We also planned, developed, and provided a sober event for the community as a whole.

Education students take a required class, Teaching in a Pluralistic Society, which focuses on diversity topics. Working in collaboration with the Center for Service Learning at IU East, students choose a learning site based on their interests, with locations that include schools, assisted living retirement communities, and community centers. In this way, these sites provide context to the course material taught in class at IU East.

Understanding the nature of service and the place of service learning in the educational experiences of students is essential. During this course, students will spend a total of 25 hours at an off-campus site as part of the service learning experience.  The location is to be coordinated with the office of service learning on campus within the parameters established by the instructor.  The service learning assignment for this class is coordiated through the Center for Service Learning. This is required of all students participating in any service or volunteer capacities in affiliation with the university. 

As part of this learning experience, students may be assigned to different locations and organizations in the community area.