Learning Bridge program manager Monica Wyatt will discuss how specialized tutoring services can help foster children succeed in school at the San Marcos Rotary Club meeting at noon on Sept. 10 at the VFW Hall, located at 1701 Hunter Road..
Learning Bridge is a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing tutoring services for foster children. Foster children can have disrupted educations because of abuse and neglect and can fall behind in their classes, according to Learning Bridge.
There are over 12,000 youth in foster care in Texas. Many are one to two grade levels behind in school. Only about half of youth in foster care graduate from high school and too often become homeless after emancipation, according to Learning Bridge.
Learning Bridge launched as a standalone nonprofit in February 2021 to provide specialized tutoring services. The idea for Learning Bridge came from its founder’s search for a tutor for her foster daughter. While she found organizations in Central Texas that help kids in foster care, she discovered that no organization existed to address their unique educational needs.
Wyatt said Learning Bridge “is the only organization in Central Texas to uplift at-risk youth through education, so they may lead stable, thriving lives. We have a variety of community members serving as volunteer tutors, including professionals, retirees and moms. We currently have only a handful of Hays County volunteers and hope we can enlist more Hays community members as volunteers.”
Wyatt was a middle school math teacher in Austin ISD for ten years. As program manager at Learning Bridge, she supports students, caregivers and volunteer tutors. She has also served as a foster mother to ten children. Wyatt and her husband have three sons and an infant daughter.
The Rotary Club of San Marcos is a 104-year-old nonprofit, nonpolitical and nonreligious service organization. Visitors are welcome.
