Tutoring Plus of Cambridge

​What are your organization’s guiding values? 
Despite Cambridge's overall affluence, significant educational inequities and opportunity gaps persist. We believe that socioeconomic status should not determine a young person’s access to educational, social, or personal growth opportunities. Our vision is a world where every young person is empowered with the knowledge and confidence to create their future. By combining individualized tutoring, mentoring, enrichment, and community-based programming, we help ensure that all Cambridge students—regardless of race, income, ability, or neighborhood—have the opportunity to thrive.

What are the ongoing services or programs that CAC provides?1:1 Tutoring & Mentoring: Approximately 150 students in grades 3–12 are matched one-on-one with a volunteer tutor-mentor and attend weekly sessions focused on individualized academic support and relationship-building. Programs operate in the evening in two public schools and three public housing communities, ensuring services are embedded directly within the neighborhoods where students live.
Drop-in Homework Centers: Flexible academic support for students who seek additional tutoring or cannot commit to weekly one-to-one programming. These centers operate at 1:1 Tutoring & Mentoring program sites and at partner afterschool programs.
Subject-Specific Enrichment Programs: We offer targeted enrichment in math (Math+), 3D coding (BlocksCAD3D), as well as media and AI literacy (Girls’ Media and ImpactCorps, respectively). These programs serve Tutoring Plus students as well as youth in partner afterschool programs.
Summer School Supply Drive: To reduce the financial burden of the back-to-school season, we distribute more than 200 backpacks filled with school supplies through partnerships with community groups, corporations, and local residents.
Caregiver & Adult Educational Support: Through partnerships with the Cambridge Families of Color Coalition and the City of Cambridge’s Agenda for Children and STEAM Initiative, we equip caregivers and community-based educators with tools to support student learning, including monthly math and ELA resources, platform navigation guides, and training sessions to strengthen academic support across afterschool settings.

Do you have any upcoming projects or initiative that you would like others to know about?
We will be hosting monthly Community Nights to bring together families, students, volunteers, community partners, and more. We will share food, play games, and connect people to resources. We invite you to get a taste of Tutoring Plus at our first one on Thursday, October 29, from 5:30–7:15 p.m. at Fresh Pond Apartments!
If you work with youth and/or families and caregivers who need academic support, need help navigating the school system, or want to be a partner in children’s academic achievement, please do not hesitate to connect with us!
Share a recent story that embodies the work of your organization. 
Elementary and middle schoolers whom I met over six years ago are graduating from high school and planning for their next steps. It is incredibly humbling when a young person decides to share a special moment with you. One of our students recently decided to share one of those moments with me.

In 2025, Anania, a junior at CRLS at the time, spoke at our fundraiser. He spoke of us nagging him about our program expectations, the friendships he made at Tutoring Plus, and his passion for science and engineering. He has been part of Tutoring Plus since he was in 5th grade. When Anania first joined our program, he needed extra support with his writing. Over the years, he was matched with three different tutors, each of whom shared his passion for STEM. Reflecting on those experiences, Anania shared, “It just felt perfect, the matchmaking. They made sure we could bond over shared interests.”

In addition to receiving tutoring and mentorship, he has participated in our BlocksCAD 3D Coding, I-Build Engineering, and Novartis CELL Experience programs. The Novartis CELL Experience, a Tutoring Plus field trip where students were exposed to real-world biology applications and lab practices, sparked his passion for the field. “They exposed you to what you actually do in the real world. That’s important so you have a sense of what you want to do and don’t want to do, which you might not always get in classes at school.” Beyond being a recipient of our programming, Anania has taken on a leadership role and gives back to our organization. He and his brother both volunteer as Program Assistants, ensuring our sessions run smoothly, and also serve as peer tutors for younger students.

Anania’s deep connection to our program is exemplified by a special moment in his high school career. At his school, students inducted into the National Honor Society get to nominate their most impactful educator to attend the ceremony with them. Anania chose me! I oversaw his program sites throughout his entire time with us.

On December 16 of last year, he called me as I was wrapping up at one of our program sites. He had been accepted into MIT! His high school career had been filled with hard work, persistence, and intentionality leading up to this moment. Numerous AP courses, leadership in CRLS’s Robotics Club, summer programs at MIT, volunteering with Tutoring Plus—he did it all.

That phone call and celebrating that moment with him and his family immediately grounded me...after I calmed down. So much nonprofit work happens behind screens or in meetings; being invited into a young person’s core memory like that is both humbling and deeply reaffirming. That phone call came during my last week as Director of Programs, a role that involves so much student-facing time. It felt especially prescient at a moment of transition. I’ve tried (and failed) to fully put words to that feeling. It’s a sudden mix of unbridled thrill, humility, and awe. Even if only for a moment, the stressors and anxieties fall to the side, and you’re reminded exactly what our students are capable of and why this work matters.
His mother, who has enrolled Anania’s two younger siblings in our program, attributes his success, in part, to the support of Tutoring Plus. As she shared, “Tutoring Plus is a second home for my kids.”

Anania is currently studying bioengineering at MIT. We know he is going to thrive. We are so, so proud of him.
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​If Tutoring Plus were an emoji, what would it be and why? 📚✏️💙
We aim to instill a love for learning!