East Side Learning Center

Our Mission
Unlocking each childs potential through the foundation of reading.

Our Vision
To be a major force in ensuring that all children have the opportunity to read at grade level by the 3rd grade.

How We Began
In 1998, as part of a long-range effort to revitalize the East Side of St. Paul, the East Side Neighborhood Development Company approached the School Sisters of Notre Dame about helping to address unmeteducational needs. In 2001 the Sisters partnered with St. Paul civic and educational leaders to establish the East Side Learning Center, to provide one-on-one reading tutoring for children reading below grade level at no cost to families unable to get help elsewhere.

The program was first piloted at John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary with 25 volunteers, one School Sister of Notre Dame, and 19 children. In 2019, ESLC adopted AARP Foundation Experience Corps Twin Cities, an intergenerational literacy tutoring program where volunteers age 50+ guide the next generation of readers.

East Side Learning Center (ESLC) provides one-to-one supplemental literacy support and mentoring relationships that help children thrive. ESLC offers a high-quality program, rooted in best practices in literacy tutoring and mentoring, with positive and consistent support from highly trained volunteers. We are committed to helping students become confident, fluent readers, using methodology that is informed by rigorous evaluation.ESLC works in schools and provides a virtual after school program.