Grand Valley tutoring service 'graduates' to become standalone nonprofit

GRAND RAPIDS — A tutoring service started at Grand Valley State University is “graduating” to become a freestanding nonprofit.

K-12 Connect, developed in GVSU’s GV NextEd Co-Lab Incubator, is spinning off and rebranding as the nonprofit organization EQPD — pronounced “equipped.” EQPD is the first “graduate” of the lab, established to create “new paths to and through” GVSU.

As a standalone organization, EQPD will continue to expand its tutoring, professional development and community-service program management to schools across the country.

“Our new chapter as EQPD is fueled by a national need for high-quality, individualized supports for student growth and well-being,” Amirah Vosburgh, CEO of EQPD, wrote in a release.

“Grand Valley State University has nurtured us since our launch in 2020. ... We look forward to serving as a continued resource to the university, even as we expand nationally to provide schools, colleges and families with the services they need to succeed.”

Moving forward, EQPD will provide three “pillars” of service — EQPD K-12 Connect, EQPD to Grow and EQPD Next.

EQPD K-12 Connect works with K-12 schools to provide virtual and in-person tutoring. It currently serves districts throughout Michigan and across the country.

EQPD to Grow works directly with families to provide tutoring and mentoring to children. The organization is an approved provider in eight states, including Indiana, Iowa, Arizona and Virginia, and is awaiting approval in other states.

EQPD Next works with colleges and universities to place and manage students in the Federal Work-Study Program that “expand the teacher talent pipeline.”

“Our work started during the COVID-19 pandemic to help combat learning loss in a time when students from across the country were facing the most challenging experience of their educational journey,” Vosburgh wrote.

“The need for high-impact tutoring continues to grow, and we are well-equipped to meet the increased demand and expand our efforts to better serve more students, families and schools.”

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Although the organization is leaving the university, EQPD and GVSU will remain close partners.

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with them to allow more students to pursue their dreams," GVSU President Philomena Mantella wrote in a release

Learn more at eqpdlearning.org.

— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Grand Valley tutoring service 'graduates' to become standalone nonprofit