C O Harrison Elementary School - Cincinnati, OH

CO Harrison is a PK-5 elementary school in the Oak Hills Local School District. We are located in a western-side suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. CO Harrison's success is due in large part to our partnership with Mt. St. Joseph University (located approximately one mile south).

This partnership has many different tiers to it. The first tier is our mentoring program, Check and Connect, which consists of about 20 MSJU student athletes who mentor our students. The student athletes stop by once a week to make a positive connection with students through establishing rapport and being a supportive listener. Although this is not a formal program, it has positively impacted many of CO Harrison's students since its implementation.

Our second tier is the tutoring program. MSJU has recognized CO Harrison as the Service Learning Community Partner and provides 10-15 MSJU students that tutor weekly. They work with our teachers and provide targeted interventions to numerous students.

Our final tier and newest venture is our partnership with MSJU's education department. They host a "Teaching of Reading"' that focuses on Orton Gillingham and uses CO Harrison as its lab. During a semester-long course at MSJU, education students put their classroom training into practice by working individually with students twice a week. This instruction focuses on the same Orton Gillingham teaching methods.

Our principal proudly states, "We have been fortunate to work in close collaboration with MSJU on many fronts, and they provide an invaluable service to our students."