Organize a preliminary meeting for interested parents who are willing to help you develop a tutoring program. Unless you have adequate funding to hire tutors and rent a building, your program will likely be a volunteer organization so finding like-minded parents is essential. Ask the local newspaper to run a story about your meeting.
Form a fact-finding committee to locate potential facilities for the tutoring program and to assess the community need. Post sign-up sheets in schools, grocery stores, churches and other places where parents can indicate their interest in a tutoring program.
Attend a local school board meeting and present your case for wanting to develop a tutoring program. It’s wise to include the school board from the beginning in order to address their concerns. Explain the community need for a program and your plans to address that need. Unless you are seeking funding, the school board will likely be receptive to your program.
Find a location for the tutoring program. If the school board offers the use of a couple of classrooms or the cafeteria, you’re one step closer to making the program a reality. However, many tutoring programs are located off the school grounds if the use of the school requires a paid school employee in attendance. In that case, locate space in a church or community building, such as a YMCA.
Form a parent’s board and elect or appoint officers to serve. You can do this in two different ways. If your group is totally independent of the school and community, you need to draw up bylaws that define the legal scope of your board and address financial issues, such as funds from donations or fund raising efforts. Alternately, you can operate under the umbrella of a community non-profit organization and use their bylaws to operate. See an attorney about forming a non-profit corporation if your group is independent.
Determine what kind of tutoring you will offer and if there will be a charge. Most tutoring programs are free to students. Parents and retired teachers volunteer their time and knowledge to help the children.
Recruit tutors from local colleges. Some colleges are willing to offer their students internship credit for tutoring within an accepted program. Discuss the opportunity with the college administration.